Chapter 1 Characteristics and Availability of Commercially Important Woods Regis B. Miller

hroughout history, the unique characteristics and Contents T comparative abundance of wood have made it a natural material for homes and other structures, furniture, tools, vehicles, and decorative objects. Today, for Timber Resources and Uses 1–2 the same reasons, wood is prized for a multitude of uses. All wood is composed of cellulose, lignin, hemicelluloses, Hardwoods and Softwoods 1–2 and minor amounts (5% to 10%) of extraneous materials Commercial Sources of Wood Products 1–2 contained in a cellular structure. Variations in the characteris- tics and volume of these components and differences in cellu- Use Classes and Trends 1–3 lar structure make woods heavy or light, stiff or flexible, and hard or soft. The properties of a single species are relatively Species Descriptions 1–3 constant within limits; therefore, selection of wood by spe- cies alone may sometimes be adequate. However, to use U.S. Wood Species 1–3 wood to its best advantage and most effectively in engineer- ing applications, specific characteristics or physical properties Hardwoods 1–3 must be considered.

Softwoods 1–10 Historically, some species filled many purposes, while other less available or less desirable species served only one or two Imported Woods 1–17 needs. For example, because white oak is tough, strong, and durable, it was highly prized for shipbuilding, bridges, Hardwoods 1–17 cooperage, barn timbers, farm implements, railroad crossties, fence posts, and flooring. Woods such as black walnut and Softwoods 1–33 cherry were used primarily for furniture and cabinets. Hickory was manufactured into tough, hard, and resilient striking-tool References 1–34 handles, and black locust was prized for barn timbers. What the early builder or craftsman learned by trial and error be- came the basis for deciding which species were appropriate for a given use in terms of their characteristics. It was com- monly accepted that wood from trees grown in certain loca- tions under certain conditions was stronger, more durable, more easily worked with tools, or finer grained than wood from trees in other locations. Modern research on wood has substantiated that location and growth conditions do significantly affect wood properties. The gradual reductions in use of old-growth forests in the United States has reduced the supply of large clear logs for lumber and veneer. However, the importance of high-quality logs has diminished as new concepts of wood use have been introduced. Second-growth wood, the remaining old-growth forests, and imports continue to fill the needs for wood in the quality required. Wood is as valuable an engineering mate- rial as ever, and in many cases, technological advances have made it even more useful.

1–1 The inherent factors that keep wood in the forefront of raw or sap in the tree. Typically, hardwoods are plants with materials are many and varied, but a chief attribute is its broad leaves that, with few exceptions in the temperate re- availability in many species, sizes, shapes, and conditions to gion, lose their leaves in autumn or winter. Most imported suit almost every demand. Wood has a high ratio of strength tropical woods are hardwoods. Botanically, softwoods are to weight and a remarkable record for durability and perform- Gymnosperms or conifers; the seeds are naked (not enclosed ance as a structural material. Dry wood has good insulating in the ovary of the flower). Anatomically, softwoods are properties against heat, sound, and electricity. It tends to nonporous and do not contain vessels. Softwoods are usually absorb and dissipate vibrations under some conditions of cone-bearing plants with needle- or scale-like evergreen use, and yet it is an incomparable material for such musical leaves. Some softwoods, such as larches and baldcypress, instruments as the violin. The grain patterns and colors of lose their needles during autumn or winter. wood make it an esthetically pleasing material, and its appearance may be easily enhanced by stains, varnishes, Major resources of softwood species are spread across the lacquers, and other finishes. It is easily shaped with tools United States, except for the Great Plains where only small and fastened with adhesives, nails, screws, bolts, and dow- areas are forested. Softwood species are often loosely grouped els. Damaged wood is easily repaired, and wood structures in three general regions, as shown in Table 1–1. Hardwoods are easily remodeled or altered. In addition, wood resists also occur in all parts of the United States, although most oxidation, acid, saltwater, and other corrosive agents, has grow east of the Great Plains. Hardwood species are shown high salvage value, has good shock resistance, can be treated by region in Table 1–2. with preservatives and fire retardants, and can be combined with almost any other material for both functional and Commercial Sources esthetic uses. of Wood Products Timber Resources and Uses Softwoods are available directly from the sawmill, wholesale and retail yards, or lumber brokers. Softwood lumber and In the United States, more than 100 wood species are avail- plywood are used in construction for forms, scaffolding, able to the prospective user, but all are unlikely to be avail- framing, sheathing, flooring, moulding, paneling, cabinets, able in any one locality. About 60 native woods are of major poles and piles, and many other building components. Soft- commercial importance. Another 30 species are commonly woods may also appear in the form of shingles, sashes, imported in the form of logs, cants, lumber, and veneer for doors, and other millwork, in addition to some rough prod- industrial uses, the building trade, and crafts. ucts such as timber and round posts.

A continuing program of timber inventory is in effect in the Hardwoods are used in construction for flooring, architectural United States through the cooperation of Federal and State woodwork, interior woodwork, and paneling. These items agencies, and new information on wood resources is pub- are usually available from lumberyards and building supply lished in State and Federal reports. Two of the most valuable dealers. Most hardwood lumber and dimension stock are sourcebooks are An Analysis of the Timber Situation in the remanufactured into furniture, flooring, pallets, containers, United States 1989–2040 (USDA 1990) and The 1993 RPA dunnage, and blocking. Hardwood lumber and dimension Timber Assessment Update (Haynes and others 1995).

Current information on wood consumption, production, Table 1–1. Major resources of U.S. softwoods according imports, and supply and demand is published periodically to region by the Forest Products Laboratory (Howard 1997) and is available from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Western Northern Southern Government Printing Office, Washington, DC. Incense-cedar Northern white-cedar Atlantic white-cedar Port-Orford-cedar Balsam fir Baldcypress Hardwoods and Softwoods Douglas-fir Eastern hemlock Fraser fir White firs Fraser fir Southern Pine Trees are divided into two broad classes, usually referred to Western hemlock Jack pine Eastern redcedar as hardwoods and softwoods. These names can be confusing Western larch Red pine since some softwoods are actually harder than some hard- Lodgepole pine Eastern white pine woods, and conversely some hardwoods are softer than some Ponderosa pine Eastern redcedar softwoods. For example, softwoods such as longleaf pine and Sugar pine Eastern spruces Douglas-fir are typically harder than the hardwoods basswood and aspen. Botanically, hardwoods are Angiosperms; the Western white pine Tamarack seeds are enclosed in the ovary of the flower. Anatomically, Western redcedar hardwoods are porous; that is, they contain vessel elements. Redwood A vessel element is a wood cell with open ends; when vessel Engelmann spruce elements are set one above another, they form a continuous Sitka spruce tube (vessel), which serves as a conduit for transporting water Yellow-cedar

1–2 Table 1–2. Major resources of U.S. hardwoods according to region Species Descriptions Northern and In this chapter, each species or group of species is described Southern Appalachia Western in terms of its principal location, characteristics, and uses. More detailed information on the properties of these and Ash Ash Red alder other species is given in various tables throughout this Basswood Aspen Oregon ash handbook. Information on historical and traditional uses is American beech Basswood Aspen provided for some species. Common and botanical names Butternut Buckeye Black cottonwood follow the Checklist of United States Trees (Little 1979). Cottonwood Butternut California black oak Elm American beech Oregon white oak Hackberry Birch Bigleaf maple U.S. Wood Species Pecan hickory Black cherry Paper birch True hickory American chestnuta Tanoak Hardwoods Honeylocust Cottonwood Alder, Red Black locust Elm Magnolia Hackberry Red alder (Alnus rubra) grows along the Pacific coast be- Soft maple True hickory tween Alaska and California. It is the principal hardwood for Red oaks Honeylocust commercial manufacture of wood products in Oregon and White oaks Black locust Washington and the most abundant commercial hardwood Sassafras Hard maple species in these two states. Sweetgum Soft maple The wood of red alder varies from almost white to pale American sycamore Red oaks pinkish brown, and there is no visible boundary between Tupelo White oaks heartwood and sapwood. Red alder is moderately light in Black walnut American sycamore weight and intermediate in most strength properties but low Black willow Black walnut in shock resistance. It has relatively low shrinkage. Yellow-poplar Yellow-poplar aAmerican chestnut is no longer harvested, but chestnut The principal use of red alder is for furniture, but it is also lumber from salvaged timbers can still be found on the used for sash and door panel stock and other millwork. market. Ash (White Ash Group) Important species of the white ash group are American white stock are available directly from the manufacturer, through ash (Fraxinus americana), green ash (F. pennsylvanica), blue wholesalers and brokers, and from some retail yards. ash (F. quadrangulata), and Oregon ash (F. latifolia). The first three species grow in the eastern half of the United Both softwood and hardwood products are distributed States. Oregon ash grows along the Pacific Coast. throughout the United States. Local preferences and the availability of certain species may influence choice, but a The heartwood of the white ash group is brown, and the wide selection of woods is generally available for building sapwood is light-colored or nearly white. Second-growth construction, industrial uses, remanufacturing, and home use. trees are particularly sought after because of the inherent qualities of the wood from these trees: it is heavy, strong, Use Classes and Trends hard, and stiff, and it has high resistance to shock. Oregon ash has somewhat lower strength properties than American The production and consumption levels of some of the many white ash, but it is used for similar purposes on the West use-classifications for wood are increasing with the overall Coast. national economy, and others are holding about the same. The most vigorously growing wood-based industries are American white ash is used principally for nonstriking tool those that convert wood to thin slices (veneer), particles handles, oars, baseball bats, and other sporting and athletic (chips, flakes), or fiber pulps and reassemble the elements to goods. For handles of the best grade, some handle specifica- produce various types of engineered panels such as plywood, tions call for not less than 2 nor more than 7 growth rings particleboard, strandboard, veneer lumber, paper, paperboard, per centimeter (not less than 5 nor more than 17 growth and fiberboard products. Another growing wood industry is rings per inch). The additional weight requirement of the production of laminated wood. For a number of years, the 690 kg/m3 (43 lb/ft3) or more at 12% moisture content en- lumber industry has produced almost the same volume of sures high quality material. Principal uses for the white ash wood per year. Modest increases have occurred in the produc- group are decorative veneer, cabinets, furniture, flooring, tion of railroad crossties, cooperage, shingles, and shakes. millwork, and crates.

1–3 Ash (Black Ash Group) The heartwood of basswood is pale yellowish brown with The black ash group includes black ash (F. nigra) and occasional darker streaks. Basswood has wide, creamy white pumpkin ash (F. profunda). Black ash grows in the North- or pale brown sapwood that merges gradually into heart- east and Midwest, and pumpkin ash in the South. wood. When dry, the wood is without odor or taste. It is soft and light in weight, has fine, even texture, and is The heartwood of black ash is a darker brown than that of straight grained and easy to work with tools. Shrinkage in American white ash; the sapwood is light-colored or nearly width and thickness during drying is rated as high; however, white. The wood of the black ash group is lighter in weight basswood seldom warps in use. (basic specific gravity of 0.45 to 0.48) than that of the white ash group (>0.50). Pumpkin ash, American white ash, and Basswood lumber is used mainly in venetian blinds, sashes green ash that grow in southern river bottoms, especially in and door frames, moulding, apiary supplies, wooden ware, areas frequently flooded for long periods, produce buttresses and boxes. Some basswood is cut for veneer, cooperage, that contain relatively lightweight and brash wood. excelsior, and pulpwood, and it is a favorite of wood carvers. Principal uses for the black ash group are decorative veneer, Beech, American cabinets, millwork, furniture, cooperage, and crates. Only one species of beech, American beech (Fagus grandifolia), is native to the United States. It grows in the Aspen eastern one-third of the United States and adjacent Canadian Aspen is a generally recognized name that is applied to provinces. The greatest production of beech lumber is in the bigtooth (Populus grandidentata) and quaking Central and Middle Atlantic States. (P. tremuloides) aspen. Aspen does not include balsam poplar (P. balsamifera) and the other species of Populus that In some beech trees, color varies from nearly white sapwood are included in the cottonwoods. In lumber statistics of the to reddish-brown heartwood. Sometimes there is no clear U.S. Bureau of the Census, however, the term cottonwood line of demarcation between heartwood and sapwood. Sap- includes all the preceding species. Also, the lumber of aspen wood may be roughly 7 to 13 cm (3 to 5 in.) wide. The and cottonwood may be mixed in trade and sold as either wood has little figure and is of close, uniform texture. It has popple or cottonwood. The name popple should not be no characteristic taste or odor. The wood of beech is classed confused with yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), also as heavy, hard, strong, high in resistance to shock, and known in the trade as poplar. Aspen lumber is produced highly suitable for steam bending. Beech shrinks substan- principally in the Northeastern and Lake States, with some tially and therefore requires careful drying. It machines production in the Rocky Mountain States. smoothly, is an excellent wood for turning, wears well, and is rather easily treated with preservatives. The heartwood of aspen is grayish white to light grayish brown. The sapwood is lighter colored and generally merges Most beech is used for flooring, furniture, brush blocks, gradually into the heartwood without being clearly marked. handles, veneer, woodenware, containers, and cooperage. Aspen wood is usually straight grained with a fine, uniform When treated with preservative, beech is suitable for texture. It is easily worked. Well-dried aspen lumber does railway ties. not impart odor or flavor to foodstuffs. The wood of aspen is lightweight and soft. It is low in strength, moderately stiff, Birch and moderately low in resistance to shock and has moder- The three most important species are yellow birch (Betula ately high shrinkage. alleghaniensis), sweet birch (B. lenta), and paper birch (B. papyrifera). These three species are the source of most Aspen is cut for lumber, pallets, boxes and crating, pulp- birch lumber and veneer. Other birch species of some com- wood, particleboard, strand panels, excelsior, matches, ve- mercial importance are river birch (B. nigra), gray birch neer, and miscellaneous turned articles. Today, aspen is one (B. populifolia), and western paper birch (B. papyrifera var. of the preferred species for use in oriented strandboard, a commutata). Yellow, sweet, and paper birch grow principally panel product that is increasingly being used as sheathing. in the Northeast and the Lake States; yellow and sweet birch also grow along the Appalachian Mountains to northern Basswood Georgia. American basswood (Tilia americana) is the most important of the native basswood species; next in importance is white Yellow birch has white sapwood and light reddish-brown basswood (T. heterophylla), and no attempt is made to heartwood. Sweet birch has light-colored sapwood and dark distinguish between these species in lumber form. In com- brown heartwood tinged with red. For both yellow and sweet mercial usage, “white basswood” is used to specify the white birch, the wood is heavy, hard, and strong, and it has good wood or sapwood of either species. Basswood grows in the shock-resisting ability. The wood is fine and uniform in eastern half of the United States from the Canadian provinces texture. Paper birch is lower in weight, softer, and lower in southward. Most basswood lumber comes from the Lake, strength than yellow and sweet birch. Birch shrinks consid- Middle Atlantic, and Central States. erably during drying.

1–4 Yellow and sweet birch lumber is used primarily for the The heartwood of black cherry varies from light to dark manufacture of furniture, boxes, baskets, crates, wooden ware, reddish brown and has a distinctive luster. The nearly white cooperage, interior woodwork, and doors; veneer plywood is sapwood is narrow in old-growth trees and wider in second- used for flush doors, furniture, paneling, cabinets, aircraft, growth trees. The wood has a fairly uniform texture and very and other specialty uses. Paper birch is used for toothpicks, good machining properties. It is moderately heavy, strong, tongue depressors, ice cream sticks, and turned products, stiff, and moderately hard; it has high shock resistance and including spools, bobbins, small handles, and toys. moderately high shrinkage. Black cherry is very dimension- ally stable after drying. Buckeye Black cherry is used principally for furniture, fine veneer Buckeye consists of two species, yellow buckeye (Aesculus panels, and architectural woodwork. Other uses include octandra) and Ohio buckeye (A. glabra). These species burial caskets, wooden ware, novelties, patterns, and range from the Appalachians of Pennsylvania, Virginia, and paneling. North Carolina westward to Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. Buckeye is not customarily separated from other species Chestnut, American when manufactured into lumber and can be used for the same purposes as aspen (Populus), basswood (Tilia), and sapwood American chestnut (Castanea dentata) is also known as of yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera). sweet chestnut. Before this species was attacked by a blight in the 1920s, it grew in commercial quantities from New The white sapwood of buckeye merges gradually into the England to northern Georgia. Practically all standing chest- creamy or yellowish white heartwood. The wood is uniform nut has been killed by blight, and most supplies of the in texture, generally straight grained, light in weight, weak lumber come from salvaged timbers. Because of the species’ when used as a beam, soft, and low in shock resistance. It is natural resistance to decay, standing dead trees in the Appa- rated low on machinability such as shaping, mortising, lachian Mountains continued to provide substantial quanti- boring, and turning. ties of lumber for several decades after the blight, but this source is now exhausted. Buckeye is suitable for pulping for paper; in lumber form, it has been used principally for furniture, boxes and crates, The heartwood of chestnut is grayish brown or brown and food containers, wooden ware, novelties, and planing mill darkens with age. The sapwood is very narrow and almost products. white. The wood is coarse in texture; growth rings are made conspicuous by several rows of large, distinct pores at the Butternut beginning of each year’s growth. Chestnut wood is moder- Also called white walnut, butternut (Juglans cinerea) grows ately light in weight, moderately hard, moderately low in from southern New Brunswick and Maine west to Minne- strength, moderately low in resistance to shock, and low in sota. Its southern range extends into northeastern Arkansas stiffness. It dries well and is easy to work with tools. and eastward to western North Carolina. Chestnut was once used for poles, railroad crossties, furni- The narrow sapwood is nearly white and heartwood is light ture, caskets, boxes, shingles, crates, and corestock for veneer brown, frequently modified by pinkish tones or darker brown panels. At present, it appears most frequently as wormy streaks. The wood is moderately light in weight (about the chestnut for paneling, interior woodwork, and picture frames. same as eastern white pine), rather coarse textured, moder- ately weak in bending and endwise compression, relatively Cottonwood low in stiffness, moderately soft, and moderately high in Cottonwood includes several species of the genus Populus. shock resistance. Butternut machines easily and finishes Most important are eastern cottonwood (P. deltoides and well. In many ways, butternut resembles black walnut espe- varieties), also known as Carolina poplar and whitewood; cially when stained, but it does not have the same strength swamp cottonwood (P. heterophylla), also known as or hardness. cottonwood, river cottonwood, and swamp poplar; black cottonwood (P. trichocarpa); and balsam poplar Principal uses are for lumber and veneer, which are further (P. balsamifera). Eastern and swamp cottonwood grow manufactured into furniture, cabinets, paneling, interior throughout the eastern half of the United States. Greatest woodwork, and miscellaneous rough items. production of lumber is in the Southern and Central States. Black cottonwood grows on the West Coast and in western Cherry, Black Montana, northern Idaho, and western Nevada. Balsam Black cherry (Prunus serotina) is sometimes known as poplar grows from Alaska across Canada and in the northern cherry, wild black cherry, and wild cherry. It is the only Great Lakes States. native species of the genus Prunus of commercial importance for lumber production. Black cherry is found from southeast- The heartwood of cottonwood is grayish white to light ern Canada throughout the eastern half of the United States. brown. The sapwood is whitish and merges gradually with Production is centered chiefly in the Middle Atlantic States. the heartwood. The wood is comparatively uniform in tex- ture and generally straight grained. It is odorless when well dried. Eastern cottonwood is moderately low in bending and

1–5 compressive strength, moderately stiff, moderately soft, and Most hackberry is cut into lumber; small amounts are used moderately low in ability to resist shock. Most strength for furniture parts, dimension stock, and veneer. properties of black cottonwood are slightly lower than those of eastern cottonwood. Both eastern and black cottonwood Hickory (Pecan Group) have moderately high shrinkage. Some cottonwood is Species of the pecan hickory group include bitternut hickory difficult to work with tools because of its fuzzy surface, which (Carya cordiformis), pecan (C. illinoensis), water hickory is mainly the result of tension wood (see discussion of Reac- (C. aquatica), and nutmeg hickory (C. myristiciformis). tion Wood in Ch. 4). Bitternut hickory grows throughout the eastern half of the Cottonwood is used principally for lumber, veneer, pulp- United States; pecan hickory, from central Texas and wood, excelsior, and fuel. Lumber and veneer are used Louisiana to Missouri and Indiana; water hickory, from primarily for boxes, crates, baskets, and pallets. Texas to South Carolina; and nutmeg hickory, in Texas and Louisiana. Elm The sapwood of this group is white or nearly white and Six species of elm grow in the eastern United States: relatively wide. The heartwood is somewhat darker. The American (Ulmus americana), slippery (U. rubra), rock wood is heavy and sometimes has very high shrinkage. (U. thomasii), winged (U. alata), cedar (U. crassifolia), and September (U. serotina) elm. American elm is also known Heavy pecan hickory is used for tool and implement handles as white, water, and gray elm; slippery elm as red elm; rock and flooring. The lower grades are used for pallets. Many elm as cork and hickory elm; winged elm as wahoo; cedar higher grade logs are sliced to provide veneer for furniture elm as red and basket elm; and September elm as red elm. and decorative paneling. American elm is threatened by two diseases, Dutch Elm disease and phloem necrosis, which have killed hundreds of Hickory (True Group) thousands of trees. True hickories are found throughout the eastern half of the United States. The species most important commercially are Sapwood of elm is nearly white and heartwood light brown, shagbark (Carya ovata), pignut (C. glabra), shellbark often tinged with red. Elm may be divided into two general (C. laciniosa), and mockernut (C. tomentosa). The greatest classes, soft and hard, based on the weight and strength of commercial production of the true hickories for all uses is in the wood. Soft elm includes American and slippery elm. It is the Middle Atlantic and Central States, with the Southern moderately heavy, has high shock resistance, and is moder- and South Atlantic States rapidly expanding to handle nearly ately hard and stiff. Hard elm includes rock, winged, cedar, half of all hickory lumber. and September elm. These species are somewhat heavier than soft elm. Elm has excellent bending qualities. The sapwood of the true hickory group is white and usually quite wide, except in old, slow-growing trees. The heart- Historically, elm lumber was used for boxes, baskets, crates, wood is reddish. The wood is exceptionally tough, heavy, and slack cooperage; furniture; agricultural supplies and hard, and strong, and shrinks considerably in drying. For implements; caskets and burial boxes; and wood components some purposes, both rings per centimeter (or inch) and in vehicles. Today, elm lumber and veneer are used mostly weight are limiting factors where strength is important. for furniture and decorative panels. Hard elm is preferred for uses that require strength. The major use for high quality hickory is for tool handles, which require high shock resistance. It is also used for ladder Hackberry rungs, athletic goods, agricultural implements, dowels, Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) and sugarberry (C. laevigata) gymnasium apparatuses, poles, and furniture. Lower grade supply the lumber known in the trade as hackberry. Hack- hickory is not suitable for the special uses of high quality berry grows east of the Great Plains from Alabama, Georgia, hickory because of knottiness or other growth features and Arkansas, and Oklahoma northward, except along the Cana- low density. However, the lower grade is useful for pallets dian boundary. Sugarberry overlaps the southern part of the and similar items. Hickory sawdust, chips, and some solid hackberry range and grows throughout the Southern and wood are used to flavor meat by smoking. South Atlantic States. Honeylocust Sapwood of both species varies from pale yellow to greenish The wood of honeylocust (Gleditsia triacanthos) has many or grayish yellow. The heartwood is commonly darker. The desirable qualities, such as attractive figure and color, hard- wood resembles elm in structure. Hackberry lumber is mod- ness, and strength, but it is little used because of its scarcity. erately heavy. It is moderately strong in bending, moderately Although the natural range of honeylocust has been extended weak in compression parallel to grain, moderately hard to by planting, this species is found most commonly in the very hard, and high in shock resistance, but low in stiffness. eastern United States, except for New England and the South Hackberry has high shrinkage but keeps its shape well during Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains. drying.

1–6 Sapwood is generally wide and yellowish, in contrast to the Magnolia lumber is used principally in the manufacture of light red to reddish-brown heartwood. The wood is very furniture, boxes, pallets, venetian blinds, sashes, doors, heavy, very hard, strong in bending, stiff, resistant to shock, veneer, and millwork. and durable when in contact with the ground. Maple, Hard When available, honeylocust is primarily used locally for fence posts and general construction. It is occasionally used Hard maple includes sugar maple (Acer saccharum) and with other species in lumber for pallets and crating. black maple (A. nigrum). Sugar maple is also known as hard and rock maple, and black maple as black sugar maple. Maple lumber is manufactured principally in the Middle Locust, Black Atlantic and Great Lake States, which together account for Black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) is sometimes called about two-thirds of production. yellow or post locust. This species grows from Pennsylvania along the Appalachian Mountains to northern Georgia and The heartwood is usually light reddish brown but sometimes Alabama. It is also native to western Arkansas and southern considerably darker. The sapwood is commonly white with a Missouri. The greatest production of black locust timber is slight reddish-brown tinge. It is roughly 7 to 13 cm or more in Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Virginia. (3 to 5 in. or more) wide. Hard maple has a fine, uniform texture. It is heavy, strong, stiff, hard, and resistant to shock Locust has narrow, creamy white sapwood. The heartwood, and has high shrinkage. The grain of sugar maple is gener- when freshly cut, varies from greenish yellow to dark brown. ally straight, but birdseye, curly, or fiddleback grain is often Black locust is very heavy, very hard, very resistant to selected for furniture or novelty items. shock, and very strong and stiff. It has moderately low shrinkage. The heartwood has high decay resistance. Hard maple is used principally for lumber and veneer. A large proportion is manufactured into flooring, furniture, Black locust is used for round, hewed, or split mine timbers cabinets, cutting boards and blocks, pianos, billiard cues, as well as fence posts, poles, railroad crossties, stakes, and handles, novelties, bowling alleys, dance and gymnasium fuel. Other uses are for rough construction, crating, and mine floors, spools, and bobbins. equipment. Historically, black locust was important for the manufacture of insulator pins and wooden pegs used in the Maple, Soft construction of ships, for which the wood was well adapted because of its strength, decay resistance, and moderate Soft maple includes silver maple (Acer saccharinum), red shrinkage and swelling. maple (A. rubrum), boxelder (A. negundo), and bigleaf maple (A. macrophyllum). Silver maple is also known as white, river, water, and swamp maple; red maple as soft, water, Magnolia scarlet, white, and swamp maple; boxelder as ash-leaved, Commercial magnolia consists of three species: southern three-leaved, and cut-leaved maple; and bigleaf maple as magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), sweetbay (M. virginiana), Oregon maple. Soft maple is found in the eastern United and cucumbertree (M. acuminata). Other names for southern States except for bigleaf maple, which comes from the magnolia are evergreen magnolia, big laurel, bull bay, and Pacific Coast. laurel bay. Sweetbay is sometimes called swamp magnolia. The lumber produced by all three species is simply called Heartwood and sapwood are similar in appearance to hard magnolia. The natural range of sweetbay extends along the maple: heartwood of soft maple is somewhat lighter in color Atlantic and Gulf Coasts from Long Island to Texas, and and the sapwood, somewhat wider. The wood of soft maple, that of southern magnolia extends from North Carolina to primarily silver and red maple, resembles that of hard maple Texas. Cucumbertree grows from the Appalachians to the but is not as heavy, hard, and strong. Ozarks northward to Ohio. Louisiana leads in the production of magnolia lumber. Soft maple is used for railroad crossties, boxes, pallets, crates, furniture, veneer, wooden ware, and novelties. Sapwood of southern magnolia is yellowish white, and heartwood is light to dark brown with a tinge of yellow or Oak (Red Oak Group) green. The wood, which has close, uniform texture and is Most red oak comes from the Eastern States. The principal generally straight grained, closely resembles yellow-poplar species are northern red (Quercus rubra), scarlet (Q. coc- (Liriodendron tulipifera). It is moderately heavy, moderately cinea), Shumard (Q. shumardii), pin (Q. palustris), Nuttall low in shrinkage, moderately low in bending and compres- (Q. nuttallii), black (Q. velutina), southern red (Q. falcata), sive strength, moderately hard and stiff, and moderately high cherrybark (Q. falcata var. pagodaefolia), water (Q. nigra), in shock resistance. Sweetbay is much like southern magno- laurel (Q. laurifolia), and willow (Q. phellos) oak. lia. The wood of cucumbertree is similar to that of yellow- poplar (L. tulipifera); cucumbertree that grows in the yellow- The sapwood is nearly white and roughly 2 to 5 cm poplar range is not separated from that species on the market. (1 to 2 in.) wide. The heartwood is brown with a tinge of red. Sawn lumber of the red oak group cannot be separated by species on the basis of wood characteristics alone.

1–7 Red oak lumber can be separated from white oak by the size characteristic odor of sassafras. The wood is moderately and arrangement of pores in latewood and because it gener- heavy, moderately hard, moderately weak in bending and ally lacks tyloses in the pores. The open pores of red oak endwise compression, quite high in shock resistance, and make this species group unsuitable for tight cooperage, resistant to decay. unless the barrels are lined with sealer or plastic. Quarter- sawn lumber of the oaks is distinguished by the broad and Sassafras was highly prized by the Indians for dugout canoes, conspicuous rays. Wood of the red oaks is heavy. Rapidly and some sassafras lumber is still used for small boats. grown second-growth wood is generally harder and tougher Locally, sassafras is used for fence posts and rails and for than finer textured old-growth wood. The red oaks have fairly general millwork. high shrinkage in drying. Sweetgum The red oaks are primarily cut into lumber, railroad cros- Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua) grows from southwest- sties, mine timbers, fence posts, veneer, pulpwood, and ern Connecticut westward into Missouri and southward to fuelwood. Ties, mine timbers, and fence posts require pre- the Gulf Coast. Almost all lumber is produced in the South- servative treatment for satisfactory service. Red oak lumber is ern and South Atlantic States. remanufactured into flooring, furniture, general millwork, boxes, pallets and crates, agricultural implements, caskets, The lumber from sweetgum is usually marked as sap gum wooden ware, and handles. It is also used in railroad cars (the light-colored sapwood) or redgum (the reddish-brown and boats. heartwood). Sweetgum often has a form of cross grain called interlocked grain, and it must be dried slowly. When quar- Oak (White Oak Group) tersawn, interlocked grain produces a ribbon-type stripe that is desirable for interior woodwork and furniture. The wood is White oak lumber comes chiefly from the South, South moderately heavy and hard. It is moderately strong, moder- Atlantic, and Central States, including the southern Appala- ately stiff, and moderately high in shock resistance. chian area. Principal species are white (Quercus alba), chest- nut (Q. prinus), post (Q. stellata), overcup (Q. lyrata), Sweetgum is used principally for lumber, veneer, plywood, swamp chestnut (Q. michauxii), bur (Q. macrocarpa), slack cooperage, railroad crossties, fuel, pulpwood, boxes chinkapin (Q. muehlenbergii), swamp white (Q. bicolor), and crates, furniture, interior moulding, and millwork. and live (Q. virginiana) oak. The sapwood of the white oaks is nearly white and roughly Sycamore, American 2 to 5 cm or more (1 to 2 in. or more) wide. The heartwood American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) is known as is generally grayish brown. Heartwood pores are usually sycamore and sometimes as buttonwood, buttonball-tree, and plugged with tyloses, which tend to make the wood impene- in the United Kingdom, planetree. Sycamore grows from trable by liquids. Consequently, most white oaks are suit- Maine to Nebraska, southward to Texas, and eastward to able for tight cooperage. Many heartwood pores of chestnut Florida. oak lack tyloses. The wood of white oak is heavy, averaging somewhat greater in weight than red oak wood. The heart- The heartwood of sycamore is reddish brown; the sapwood is wood has good decay resistance. lighter in color and from 4 to 8 cm (1-1/2 to 3 in.) wide. The wood has a fine texture and interlocked grain. It has White oaks are usually cut into lumber, railroad crossties, high shrinkage in drying; is moderately heavy, moderately cooperage, mine timbers, fence posts, veneer, fuelwood, and hard, moderately stiff, and moderately strong; and has good many other products. High-quality white oak is especially resistance to shock. sought for tight cooperage. Live oak is considerably heavier and stronger than the other oaks, and it was formerly used Sycamore is used principally for lumber, veneer, railroad extensively for ship timbers. An important use of white oak crossties, slack cooperage, fence posts, and fuel. The lumber is for planking and bent parts of ships and boats; heartwood is used for furniture, boxes (particularly small food contain- is often specified because of its decay resistance. White oak is ers), pallets, flooring, handles, and butcher blocks. Veneer is also used for furniture, flooring, pallets, agricultural imple- used for fruit and vegetable baskets and some decorative ments, railroad cars, truck floors, furniture, doors, and panels and door skins. millwork. Tanoak Sassafras Tanoak (Lithocarpus densiflorus) has recently gained some Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) ranges through most of the commercial value, primarily in California and Oregon. It is eastern half of the United States, from southeastern Iowa and also known as tanbark–oak because high-grade tannin was eastern Texas eastward. once obtained from the bark in commercial quantities. This species is found in southwestern Oregon and south to Sassafras is easily confused with black ash, which it resem- Southern California, mostly near the coast but also in the bles in color, grain, and texture. Sapwood is light yellow, Sierra Nevadas. and heartwood varies from dull grayish brown to dark brown, sometimes with a reddish tinge. Freshly cut surfaces have the

1–8 Sapwood of tanoak is light reddish brown when first cut and heavy, hard, strong, and stiff, and has good resistance to turns darker with age to become almost indistinguishable shock. Black walnut is well suited for natural finishes. from heartwood, which also ages to dark reddish brown. The wood is heavy and hard; except for compression perpendicu- Because of its good properties and interesting grain pattern, lar to grain, the wood has roughly the same strength proper- black walnut is much valued for furniture, architectural ties as those of eastern white oak. Tanoak has higher shrink- woodwork, and decorative panels. Other important uses are age during drying than does white oak, and it has a tendency gunstocks, cabinets, and interior woodwork. to collapse during drying. Tanoak is quite susceptible to decay, but the sapwood takes preservatives easily. Tanoak Willow, Black has straight grain, machines and glues well, and takes stains Black willow (Salix nigra) is the most important of the readily. many willows that grow in the United States. It is the only willow marketed under its own name. Most black willow Because of its hardness and abrasion resistance, tanoak is comes from the Mississippi Valley, from Louisiana to south- excellent for flooring in homes or commercial buildings. ern Missouri and Illinois. It is also suitable for industrial applications such as truck flooring. Tanoak treated with preservative has been used for The heartwood of black willow is grayish brown or light railroad crossties. The wood has been manufactured into reddish brown and frequently contains darker streaks. The baseball bats with good results, and it is also suitable for sapwood is whitish to creamy yellow. The wood is uniform veneer, both decorative and industrial, and for high quality in texture, with somewhat interlocked grain, and light in furniture. weight. It has exceedingly low strength as a beam or post, is moderately soft, and is moderately high in shock resistance. Tupelo It has moderately high shrinkage. The tupelo group includes water (Nyssa aquatica), black Black willow is principally cut into lumber. Small amounts (N. sylvatica), swamp (N. sylvatica var. biflora), and are used for slack cooperage, veneer, excelsior, charcoal, Ogeechee (N. ogeche) tupelo. Water tupelo is also known as pulpwood, artificial limbs, and fence posts. The lumber is tupelo gum, swamp tupelo, and sourgum; black tupelo, as remanufactured principally into boxes, pallets, crates, cas- blackgum and sourgum; swamp tupelo, as swamp blackgum, kets, and furniture. blackgum, and sourgum; and Ogeechee tupelo, as sour tu- pelo, gopher plum, and Ogeechee plum. All except black Yellow-Poplar tupelo grow principally in the southeastern United States. Black tupelo grows in the eastern United States from Maine Yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) is also known as to Texas and Missouri. About two-thirds of the production poplar, tulip-poplar, and tulipwood. Sapwood from yellow- of tupelo lumber is from Southern States. poplar is sometimes called white poplar or whitewood. Yellow-poplar grows from Connecticut and New York Wood of the different tupelo species is quite similar in southward to Florida and westward to Missouri. The greatest appearance and properties. The heartwood is light brownish commercial production of yellow-poplar lumber is in the gray and merges gradually into the lighter-colored sapwood, South and Southeast. which is generally many centimeters wide. The wood has fine, uniform texture and interlocked grain. Tupelo wood is Yellow-poplar sapwood is white and frequently several cen- moderately heavy, moderately strong, moderately hard and timeters wide. The heartwood is yellowish brown, some- stiff, and moderately high in shock resistance. Buttresses of times streaked with purple, green, black, blue, or red. These trees growing in swamps or flooded areas contain wood that colorations do not affect the physical properties of the wood. is much lighter in weight than that from upper portions of The wood is generally straight grained and comparatively the same trees. Because of interlocked grain, tupelo lumber uniform in texture. Slow-grown wood is moderately light in requires care in drying. weight and moderately low in bending strength, moderately soft, and moderately low in shock resistance. The wood has Tupelo is cut principally for lumber, veneer, pulpwood, and moderately high shrinkage when dried from a green condi- some railroad crossties and slack cooperage. Lumber goes tion, but it is not difficult to dry and is stable after drying. into boxes, pallets, crates, baskets, and furniture. Much of the second-growth wood is heavier, harder, and stronger than that of older trees that have grown more Walnut, Black slowly. Black walnut (Juglans nigra), also known as American black The lumber is used primarily for furniture, interior mould- walnut, ranges from Vermont to the Great Plains and south- ing, siding, cabinets, musical instruments, and structural ward into Louisiana and Texas. About three-quarters of components. Boxes, pallets, and crates are made from lower- walnut wood is grown in the Central States. grade stock. Yellow-poplar is also made into plywood for paneling, furniture, piano cases, and various other special The heartwood of black walnut varies from light to dark products. brown; the sapwood is nearly white and up to 8 cm (3 in.) wide in open-grown trees. Black walnut is normally straight grained, easily worked with tools, and stable in use. It is

1–9 and cooling towers. Second-growth wood is used for siding and millwork, including interior woodwork and paneling. Pecky cypress is used for paneling in restaurants, stores, and other buildings.

Douglas-Fir Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) is also known locally as red-fir, Douglas-spruce, and yellow-fir. Its range extends from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Coast and from Mexico to central British Columbia. Sapwood of Douglas-fir is narrow in old-growth trees but may be as much as 7 cm (3 in.) wide in second-growth trees of commercial size. Young trees of moderate to rapid growth have reddish heartwood and are called red-fir. Very narrow- ringed heartwood of old-growth trees may be yellowish brown and is known on the market as yellow-fir. The wood of Douglas-fir varies widely in weight and strength. When lumber of high strength is needed for structural uses, selec- Figure 1–1. Cypress-tupelo swamp near New Orleans, tion can be improved by selecting wood with higher density. LA. Species include baldcypress (Taxodium distichum)), tupelo (Nyssa), ash (Fraxinus), willow (Salix), and elm Douglas-fir is used mostly for building and construction (Ulmus). Swollen buttresses and “knees” are typically purposes in the form of lumber, marine fendering (Fig. 1–2), present in cypress. piles, and plywood. Considerable quantities are used for railroad crossties, cooperage stock, mine timbers, poles, and fencing. Douglas-fir lumber is used in the manufacture of Softwoods various products, including sashes, doors, laminated beams, general millwork, railroad-car construction, boxes, pallets, Baldcypress and crates. Small amounts are used for flooring, furniture, Baldcypress or cypress (Taxodium distichum) is also known ship and boat construction, and tanks. Douglas-fir plywood as southern-cypress, red-cypress, yellow-cypress, and white- has found application in construction, furniture, cabinets, cypress. Commercially, the terms tidewater red-cypress, gulf- marine use, and other products. cypress, red-cypress (coast type), and yellow-cypress (inland type) are frequently used. About half of the cypress lumber Firs, True (Eastern Species) comes from the Southern States and about a fourth from the Balsam fir (Abies balsamea) grows principally in New Eng- South Atlantic States (Fig. 1–1). Old-growth baldcypress is land, New York, Pennsylvania, and the Great Lake States. no longer readily available, but second-growth wood is Fraser fir (A. fraseri) grows in the Appalachian Mountains of available. Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Sapwood of baldcypress is narrow and nearly white. The The wood of the eastern true firs, as well as the western true color of heartwood varies widely, ranging from light yel- firs, is creamy white to pale brown. The heartwood and lowish brown to dark brownish red, brown, or chocolate. sapwood are generally indistinguishable. The similarity of The wood is moderately heavy, moderately strong, and wood structure in the true firs makes it impossible to distin- moderately hard. The heartwood of old-growth baldcypress guish the species by examination of the wood alone. Balsam is one of the most decay resistant of U.S. species, but sec- and Fraser firs are lightweight, have low bending and com- ond-growth wood is only moderately resistant to decay. pressive strength, are moderately low in stiffness, are soft, Shrinkage is moderately low but somewhat higher than that and have low resistance to shock. of the cedars and lower than that of Southern Pine. The wood of certain baldcypress trees frequently contains pockets or The eastern firs are used mainly for pulpwood, although localized areas that have been attacked by a fungus. Such some lumber is produced for structural products, especially wood is known as pecky cypress. The decay caused by this in New England and the Great Lake States. fungus is stopped when the wood is cut into lumber and dried. Pecky cypress is therefore durable and useful where Firs, True (Western Species) water tightness is unnecessary, appearance is not important, Six commercial species make up the western true firs: subal- or a novel effect is desired. pine fir (Abies lasiocarpa), California red fir (A. magnifica), grand fir (A. grandis), noble fir (A. procera), Pacific silver fir When old-growth wood was available, baldcypress was used (A. amabilis), and white fir (A. concolor). The western true principally for building construction, especially where resis- firs are cut for lumber primarily in Washington, Oregon, tance to decay was required. It was also used for caskets, California, western Montana, and northern Idaho, and they sashes, doors, blinds, tanks, vats, ship and boat building, are marketed as white fir throughout the United States.

1–10 Figure 1–2. Wood is favored for waterfront structures, particularly fendering, because of its shock-absorbing qualities. The fendering on this dock in Key West, FL, is made of creosote-treated Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). Some tropical species are resistant to attack by decay fungi and marine borers and are used for marine construction without preservative treatment.

The wood of the western true firs is similar to that of the Hemlock, Eastern eastern true firs, which makes it impossible to distinguish Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) grows from New Eng- the true fir species by examination of the wood alone. West- land to northern Alabama and Georgia, and in the Great Lake ern true firs are light in weight but, with the exception of States. Other names are Canadian hemlock and hemlock– subalpine fir, have somewhat higher strength properties than spruce. The production of hemlock lumber is divided fairly does balsam fir. Shrinkage of the wood is low to moderately evenly among the New England States, Middle Atlantic high. States, and Great Lake States. Lumber of the western true firs is primarily used for building The heartwood of eastern hemlock is pale brown with a construction, boxes and crates, planing-mill products, reddish hue. The sapwood is not distinctly separated from sashes, doors, and general millwork. In house construction, the heartwood but may be lighter in color. The wood is the lumber is used for framing, subflooring, and sheathing. coarse and uneven in texture (old trees tend to have consider- Some western true fir lumber is manufactured into boxes and able shake); it is moderately lightweight, moderately hard, crates. High-grade lumber from noble fir is used mainly for moderately low in strength, moderately stiff, and moderately interior woodwork, moulding, siding, and sash and door low in shock resistance. stock. Some of the highest quality material is suitable for aircraft construction. Other special uses of noble fir are vene- Eastern hemlock is used principally for lumber and pulp- tian blinds and ladder rails. wood. The lumber is used primarily in building construction (framing, sheathing, subflooring, and roof boards) and in the manufacture of boxes, pallets, and crates.

1–11 Hemlock, Western and Mountain Larch, Western Western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) is also known as Western larch (Larix occidentalis) grows in western Mon- West Coast hemlock, Pacific hemlock, British Columbia tana, northern Idaho, northeastern Oregon, and on the eastern hemlock, hemlock–spruce, and western hemlock–fir. It grows slope of the Cascade Mountains in Washington. About two- along the Pacific coast of Oregon and Washington and in the thirds of the lumber of this species is produced in Idaho and northern Rocky Mountains north to Canada and Alaska. A Montana and one-third in Oregon and Washington. relative of western hemlock, mountain hemlock (T. merten- siana) grows in mountainous country from central California The heartwood of western larch is yellowish brown and the to Alaska. It is treated as a separate species in assigning sapwood, yellowish white. The sapwood is generally not lumber properties. more than 2.5 cm (1 in.) wide. The wood is stiff, moderately strong and hard, moderately high in shock resistance, and The heartwood and sapwood of western hemlock are almost moderately heavy. It has moderately high shrinkage. The white with a purplish tinge. The sapwood, which is some- wood is usually straight grained, splits easily, and is subject times lighter in color than the heartwood, is generally not to ring shake. Knots are common but generally small and more than 2.5 cm (1 in.) wide. The wood often contains tight. small, sound, black knots that are usually tight and dimen- sionally stable. Dark streaks are often found in the lumber; Western larch is used mainly for rough dimension wood in these are caused by hemlock bark maggots and generally do building construction, small timbers, planks and boards, and not reduce strength. Western hemlock is moderately light in railroad crossties and mine timbers. It is used also for piles, weight and moderate in strength. It is also moderate in poles, and posts. Some high-grade material is manufactured hardness, stiffness, and shock resistance. Shrinkage of west- into interior woodwork, flooring, sashes, and doors. The ern hemlock is moderately high, about the same as that of properties of western larch are similar to those of Douglas-fir Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). Green hemlock lumber (Pseudotsuga menziesii), and these species are sometimes contains considerably more water than does Douglas-fir and sold mixed. requires longer kiln-drying time. Mountain hemlock has approximately the same density as that of western hemlock Pine, Eastern White but is somewhat lower in bending strength and stiffness. Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) grows from Maine to northern Georgia and in the Great Lake States. It is also Western hemlock and mountain hemlock are used principally known as white pine, northern white pine, Weymouth pine, for pulpwood, lumber, and plywood. The lumber is used and soft pine. About one-half the production of eastern white primarily for building material, such as sheathing, siding, pine lumber occurs in New England, about one-third in the subflooring, joists, studding, planking, and rafters, as well as Great Lake States, and most of the remainder in the Middle in the manufacture of boxes, pallets, crates, flooring, furni- Atlantic and South Atlantic States. ture, and ladders. The heartwood of eastern white pine is light brown, often Incense-Cedar with a reddish tinge. It turns darker on exposure to air. The Incense-cedar (Calocedrus decurrens (synonym Libocedrus wood has comparatively uniform texture and is straight decurrens)) grows in California, southwestern Oregon, and grained. It is easily kiln dried, has low shrinkage, and ranks extreme western Nevada. Most incense-cedar lumber comes high in stability. It is also easy to work and can be readily from the northern half of California. glued. Eastern white pine is lightweight, moderately soft, moderately low in strength, low in shock resistance, and low Sapwood of incense-cedar is white or cream colored, and in stiffness. heartwood is light brown, often tinged with red. The wood has a fine, uniform texture and a spicy odor. Incense-cedar is Practically all eastern white pine is converted into lumber, light in weight, moderately low in strength, soft, low in which is used in a great variety of ways. A large proportion, shock resistance, and low in stiffness. It has low shrinkage mostly second-growth knotty wood or lower grades, is used and is easy to dry, with little checking or warping. for structural lumber. High-grade lumber is used for patterns for castings. Other important uses are sashes, doors, furni- Incense-cedar is used principally for lumber and fence posts. ture, interior woodwork, knotty paneling, caskets, shade and Nearly all the high-grade lumber is used for pencils and map rollers, and toys. venetian blinds; some is used for chests and toys. Much incense-cedar wood is more or less pecky; that is, it contains Pine, Jack pockets or areas of disintegrated wood caused by advanced Jack pine (Pinus banksiana), sometimes known as scrub, stages of localized decay in the living tree. There is no fur- gray, and black pine in the United States, grows naturally in ther development of decay once the lumber is dried. This the Great Lake States and in a few scattered areas in New low-quality lumber is used locally for rough construction England and northern New York. Jack pine lumber is some- where low cost and decay resistance are important. Because times not separated from the other pines with which it of its resistance to decay, incense-cedar is well suited for grows, including red pine (Pinus resinosa) and eastern white fence posts. Other uses are railroad crossties, poles, and split pine (Pinus strobus). shingles.

1–12 Sapwood of jack pine is nearly white; heartwood is light brown to orange. Sapwood may constitute one-half or more of the volume of a tree. The wood has a rather coarse texture and is somewhat resinous. It is moderately lightweight, moderately low in bending strength and compressive strength, moderately low in shock resistance, and low in stiffness. It also has moderately low shrinkage. Lumber from jack pine is generally knotty. Jack pine is used for pulpwood, box lumber, and pallets. Less important uses include railroad crossties, mine timber, slack cooperage, poles, posts, and fuel.

Pine, Jeffrey (see Pine, Ponderosa) Pine, Lodgepole Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta), also known as knotty, black, and spruce pine, grows in the Rocky Mountain and Pacific Coast regions as far northward as Alaska. Wood for Figure 1–3. Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) growing lumber and other products is produced primarily in the in an open or park-like habitat. central Rocky Mountain States; other producing regions are Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. Pond pine is used for general construction, railway crossties, The heartwood of lodgepole pine varies from light yellow to posts, and poles. The lumber of this species is also graded light yellow-brown. The sapwood is yellow or nearly white. as a minor species in grading rules for the Southern Pine The wood is generally straight grained with narrow growth species group. rings. The wood is moderately lightweight, is fairly easy to work, and has moderately high shrinkage. It is moderately Pine, Ponderosa low in strength, moderately soft, moderately stiff, and mod- Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) is also known as ponder- erately low in shock resistance. osa, western soft, western yellow, bull, and blackjack pine. Lodgepole pine is used for lumber, mine timbers, railroad Jeffrey pine (P. jeffreyi), which grows in close association crossties, and poles. Less important uses include posts and with ponderosa pine in California and Oregon, is usually fuel. Lodgepole pine is being used increasingly for framing, marketed with ponderosa pine and sold under that name. siding, millwork, flooring, and cabin logs. Major ponderosa pine producing areas are in Oregon, Wash- ington, and California (Fig. 1–3). Other important producing Pine, Pitch areas are in Idaho and Montana; lesser amounts come from the southern Rocky Mountain region, the Black Hills of Pitch pine (Pinus rigida) grows from Maine along the moun- South Dakota, and Wyoming. tains to eastern Tennessee and northern Georgia. The heartwood is brownish red and resinous; the sapwood is The heartwood of ponderosa pine is light reddish brown, and wide and light yellow. The wood of pitch pine is moderately the wide sapwood is nearly white to pale yellow. The wood heavy to heavy, moderately strong, stiff, and hard, and of the outer portions of ponderosa pine of sawtimber size is moderately high in shock resistance. Shrinkage ranges from generally moderately light in weight, moderately low in moderately low to moderately high. strength, moderately soft, moderately stiff, and moderately low in shock resistance. It is generally straight grained and Pitch pine is used for lumber, fuel, and pulpwood. The has moderately low shrinkage. It is quite uniform in texture lumber is classified as a minor species in grading rules for and has little tendency to warp and twist. the Southern Pine species group. Ponderosa pine is used mainly for lumber and to a lesser Pine, Pond extent for piles, poles, posts, mine timbers, veneer, and railroad crossties. The clear wood is used for sashes, doors, Pond pine (Pinus serotina) grows in the coastal region from blinds, moulding, paneling, interior woodwork, and built-in New Jersey to Florida. It occurs in small groups or singly, cases and cabinets. Low-grade lumber is used for boxes and mixed with other pines on low flats. crates. Much intermediate- or low-grade lumber is used for Sapwood of pond pine is wide and pale yellow; heartwood is sheathing, subflooring, and roof boards. Knotty ponderosa dark orange. The wood is heavy, coarse grained, and resin- pine is used for interior woodwork. ous. Shrinkage is moderately high. The wood is moderately strong, stiff, moderately hard, and moderately high in shock resistance.

1–13 Pine, Red shrinkage but are dimensionally stable when properly dried. Red pine (Pinus resinosa) is frequently called Norway pine To obtain heavy, strong wood of the southern pines for and occasionally known as hard pine and pitch pine. This structural purposes, a density rule has been written that species grows in New England, New York, Pennsylvania, specifies a certain percentage of latewood and growth rates for and the Great Lake States. structural timbers. The heartwood of red pine varies from pale red to reddish The denser and higher strength southern pines are exten- brown. The sapwood is nearly white with a yellowish tinge sively used in the form of stringers in construction of facto- and is generally from 5 to 10 cm (2 to 4 in.) wide. The ries, warehouses, bridges, trestles, and docks, and also for wood resembles the lighter weight wood of the Southern roof trusses, beams, posts, joists, and piles. Lumber of lower Pine species group. Latewood is distinct in the growth rings. density and strength is also used for building material, such Red pine is moderately heavy, moderately strong and stiff, as interior woodwork, sheathing, and subflooring, as well as moderately soft, and moderately high in shock resistance. It boxes, pallets, and crates. Southern Pine is used also for is generally straight grained, not as uniform in texture as tight and slack cooperage. When used for railroad crossties, eastern white pine (Pinus strobus), and somewhat resinous. piles, poles, mine timbers, and exterior decking, it is usually The wood has moderately high shrinkage, but it is not treated with preservatives. The manufacture of structural- difficult to dry and is dimensionally stable when dried. grade plywood from Southern Pine is a major wood-using industry, as is the production of preservative-treated lumber. Red pine is used principally for lumber, cabin logs, and pulpwood, and to a lesser extent for piles, poles, posts, and Pine, Spruce fuel. The lumber is used for many of the same purposes as for Spruce pine (Pinus glabra), also known as cedar, poor, eastern white pine (Pinus strobus). Red pine lumber is used Walter, and bottom white pine, is classified as a minor primarily for building construction, including treated lumber species in the Southern Pine species group. Spruce pine for decking, siding, flooring, sashes, doors, general mill- grows most commonly on low moist lands of the coastal work, and boxes, pallets, and crates. regions of southeastern South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, and northern and northwestern Pine, Southern Florida. A number of species are included in the group marketed as Southern Pine lumber. The four major Southern Pine species The heartwood of spruce pine is light brown, and the wide and their growth ranges are as follows: (a) longleaf pine sapwood is nearly white. Spruce pine wood is lower in most (Pinus palustris), eastern North Carolina southward into strength values than the wood of the major Southern Pine Florida and westward into eastern Texas; (b) shortleaf pine species group. Spruce pine compares favorably with the (P. echinata), southeastern New York and New Jersey western true firs in important bending properties, crushing southward to northern Florida and westward into eastern strength (perpendicular and parallel to grain), and hardness. Texas and Oklahoma; (c) loblolly pine (P. taeda), Maryland It is similar to denser species such as coast Douglas-fir southward through the Atlantic Coastal Plain and Piedmont (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) Plateau into Florida and westward into eastern Texas; (d) in shear parallel to grain. slash pine (P. elliottii), Florida and southern South Caro- In the past, spruce pine was principally used locally for lina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana east of lumber, pulpwood, and fuelwood. The lumber reportedly the Mississippi River. Lumber from these four species is was used for sashes, doors, and interior woodwork because classified as Southern Pine by the grading standards of the of its low specific gravity and similarity of earlywood and industry. These standards also classify lumber produced from latewood. In recent years, spruce pine has been used for the longleaf and slash pine species as longleaf pine if the plywood. lumber conforms to the growth-ring and latewood require- ments of such standards. Southern Pine lumber is produced Pine, Sugar principally in the Southern and South Atlantic States. Geor- Sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana), the world’s largest species gia, Alabama, North Carolina, Arkansas, and Louisiana lead of pine, is sometimes called California sugar pine. Most in Southern Pine lumber production. sugar pine lumber grows in California and southwestern Oregon. The wood of these southern pines is quite similar in appear- ance. Sapwood is yellowish white and heartwood, reddish The heartwood of sugar pine is buff or light brown, some- brown. The sapwood is usually wide in second-growth times tinged with red. The sapwood is creamy white. The stands. The heartwood begins to form when the tree is about wood is straight grained, fairly uniform in texture, and easy 20 years old. In old, slow-growth trees, sapwood may be to work with tools. It has very low shrinkage, is readily only 2 to 5 cm (1 to 2 in.) wide. dried without warping or checking, and is dimensionally stable. Sugar pine is lightweight, moderately low in Longleaf and slash pine are classified as heavy, strong, stiff, strength, moderately soft, low in shock resistance, and low hard, and moderately high in shock resistance. Shortleaf and in stiffness. loblolly pine are usually somewhat lighter in weight than is longleaf. All the southern pines have moderately high

1–14 Sugar pine is used almost exclusively for lumber products. weight, stiff, moderately strong and hard, and moderately The largest volume is used for boxes and crates, sashes, resistant to shock. Port-Orford-cedar heartwood is highly doors, frames, blinds, general millwork, building construc- resistant to decay. The wood shrinks moderately, has little tion, and foundry patterns. Like eastern white pine (Pinus tendency to warp, and is stable after drying. strobus), sugar pine is suitable for use in nearly every part of a house because of the ease with which it can be cut, its Some high-grade Port-Orford-cedar was once used in the dimensional stability, and its good nailing properties. manufacture of storage battery separators, matchsticks, and specialty millwork. Today, other uses are archery supplies, Pine, Virginia sash and door construction, stadium seats, flooring, interior woodwork, furniture, and boats. Virginia pine (Pinus virginiana), also known as Jersey and scrub pine, grows from New Jersey and Virginia throughout Redcedar, Eastern the Appalachian region to Georgia and the Ohio Valley. It is classified as a minor species in the grading rules for Eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) grows throughout the the Southern Pine species group. eastern half of the United States, except in Maine, Florida, and a narrow strip along the Gulf Coast, and at the higher The heartwood is orange, and the sapwood is nearly white elevations in the Appalachian Mountain Range. Commercial and relatively wide. The wood is moderately heavy, moder- production is principally in the southern Appalachian and ately strong, moderately hard, and moderately stiff and has Cumberland Mountain regions. Another species, southern moderately high shrinkage and high shock resistance. redcedar (J. silicicola), grows over a limited area in the South Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plains. Virginia pine is used for lumber, railroad crossties, mine timbers, and pulpwood. The heartwood of redcedar is bright or dull red, and the narrow sapwood is nearly white. The wood is moderately Pine, Western White heavy, moderately low in strength, hard, and high in shock Western white pine (Pinus monticola) is also known as resistance, but low in stiffness. It has very low shrinkage and Idaho white pine or white pine. About four-fifths of the wood is dimensionally stable after drying. The texture is fine and for lumber from this species is from Idaho and Washington; uniform, and the wood commonly has numerous small small amounts are cut in Montana and Oregon. knots. Eastern redcedar heartwood is very resistant to decay. The heartwood of western white pine is cream colored to The greatest quantity of eastern redcedar is used for fence light reddish brown and darkens on exposure to air. The posts. Lumber is manufactured into chests, wardrobes, and sapwood is yellowish white and generally from 2 to 8 cm closet lining. Other uses include flooring, novelties, pencils, (1 to 3 in.) wide. The wood is straight grained, easy to scientific instruments, and small boats. Southern redcedar work, easily kiln-dried, and stable after drying. This species is used for the same purposes. Eastern redcedar is reputed is moderately lightweight, moderately low in strength, to repel moths, but this claim has not been supported by moderately soft, moderately stiff, and moderately low in research. shock resistance and has moderately high shrinkage. Redcedar, Western Practically all western white pine is sawn into lumber, which Western redcedar (Thuja plicata) grows in the Pacific is used mainly for building construction, matches, boxes, Northwest and along the Pacific Coast to Alaska. It is also patterns, and millwork products, such as sashes and door called canoe-cedar, giant arborvitae, shinglewood, and Pacific frames. In building construction, lower-grade boards are used redcedar. Western redcedar lumber is produced principally in for sheathing, knotty paneling, and subflooring. High-grade Washington, followed by Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. material is made into siding of various kinds, exterior and interior woodwork, and millwork. Western white pine has The heartwood of western redcedar is reddish or pinkish practically the same uses as eastern white pine (Pinus brown to dull brown, and the sapwood is nearly white. The strobus) and sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana). sapwood is narrow, often not more than 2.5 cm (1 in.) wide. The wood is generally straight grained and has a uniform but Port-Orford-Cedar rather coarse texture. It has very low shrinkage. This species Port-Orford-cedar (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana) is sometimes is lightweight, moderately soft, low in strength when used as known as Lawson-cypress, Oregon-cedar, and white-cedar. It a beam or posts, and low in shock resistance. The heartwood grows along the Pacific Coast from Coos Bay, Oregon, is very resistant to decay. southward to California. It does not extend more than Western redcedar is used principally for shingles, lumber, 64 km (40 mi) inland. poles, posts, and piles. The lumber is used for exterior The heartwood of Port-Orford-cedar is light yellow to pale siding, decking, interior woodwork, greenhouse construc- brown. The sapwood is narrow and hard to distinguish from tion, ship and boat building, boxes and crates, sashes, the heartwood. The wood has fine texture, generally straight and doors. grain, and a pleasant spicy odor. It is moderately light-

1–15 Redwood The heartwood of Engelmann spruce is nearly white, with a Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) grows on the coast of slight tinge of red. The sapwood varies from 2 to 5 cm California and some trees are among the tallest in the world. (3/4 to 2 in.) in width and is often difficult to distinguish A closely related species, giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron from the heartwood. The wood has medium to fine texture giganteum), is volumetrically larger and grows in a limited and is without characteristic odor. Engelmann spruce is rated area in the Sierra Nevadas of California, but its wood is used as lightweight, and it is low in strength as a beam or post. It in very limited quantities. Other names for redwood are coast is also soft and low in stiffness, shock resistance, and shrink- redwood, California redwood, and sequoia. Production of age. The lumber typically contains many small knots. redwood lumber is limited to California, but the market is Engelmann spruce is used principally for lumber and for nationwide. mine timbers, railroad crossties, and poles. It is used also in The heartwood of redwood varies from light “cherry” red to building construction in the form of dimension lumber, dark mahogany. The narrow sapwood is almost white. Typi- flooring, and sheathing. It has excellent properties for pulp cal old-growth redwood is moderately lightweight, moder- and papermaking. ately strong and stiff, and moderately hard. The wood is easy to work, generally straight grained, and shrinks and swells Spruce, Sitka comparatively little. The heartwood from old-growth trees Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) is a large tree that grows has high decay resistance; heartwood from second-growth along the northwestern coast of North America from Califor- trees generally has low to moderate decay resistance. nia to Alaska. It is also known as yellow, tideland, western, silver, and west coast spruce. Much Sitka spruce timber is Most redwood lumber is used for building. It is remanufac- grown in Alaska, but most logs are sawn into cants for tured extensively into siding, sashes, doors, blinds, mill- export to Pacific Rim countries. Material for U.S. consump- work, casket stock, and containers. Because of its durability, tion is produced primarily in Washington and Oregon. redwood is useful for cooling towers, decking, tanks, silos, wood-stave pipe, and outdoor furniture. It is used in agricul- The heartwood of Sitka spruce is a light pinkish brown. The ture for buildings and equipment. Its use as timbers and large sapwood is creamy white and shades gradually into the dimension in bridges and trestles is relatively minor. Red- heartwood; the sapwood may be 7 to 15 cm (3 to 6 in.) wide wood splits readily and plays an important role in the or even wider in young trees. The wood has a comparatively manufacture of split products, such as posts and fence fine, uniform texture, generally straight grain, and no distinct material. Some redwood veneer is produced for decorative taste or odor. It is moderately lightweight, moderately low plywood. in bending and compressive strength, moderately stiff, mod- erately soft, and moderately low in resistance to shock. It has Spruce, Eastern moderately low shrinkage. On the basis of weight, Sitka spruce rates high in strength properties and can be obtained The term eastern spruce includes three species: red (Picea in long, clear, straight-grained pieces. rubens), white (P. glauca), and black (P. mariana). White and black spruce grow principally in the Great Lake States Sitka spruce is used principally for lumber, pulpwood, and and New England, and red spruce grows in New England cooperage. Boxes and crates account for a considerable and the Appalachian Mountains. amount of the remanufactured lumber. Other important uses are furniture, planing-mill products, sashes, doors, blinds, The wood is light in color, and there is little difference millwork, and boats. Sitka spruce has been by far the most between heartwood and sapwood. All three species have important wood for aircraft construction. Other specialty uses about the same properties, and they are not distinguished are ladder rails and sounding boards for pianos. from each other in commerce. The wood dries easily and is stable after drying, is moderately lightweight and easily Tamarack worked, has moderate shrinkage, and is moderately strong, stiff, tough, and hard. Tamarack (Larix laricina), also known as eastern larch and locally as hackmatack, is a small to medium tree with a The greatest use of eastern spruce is for pulpwood. Eastern straight, round, slightly tapered trunk. It grows from Maine spruce lumber is used for framing material, general millwork, to Minnesota, with the bulk of the stand in the Great Lake boxes and crates, and piano sounding boards. States.

Spruce, Engelmann The heartwood of tamarack is yellowish brown to russet brown. The sapwood is whitish, generally less than 2.5 cm Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii) grows at high eleva- (1 in.) wide. The wood is coarse in texture, without odor or tions in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States. taste, and the transition from earlywood to latewood is This species is also known as white spruce, mountain abrupt. The wood is intermediate in weight and in most spruce, Arizona spruce, silver spruce, and balsam. About mechanical properties. two-thirds of the lumber is produced in the southern Rocky Mountain States and most of the remainder in the northern Tamarack is used principally for pulpwood, lumber, railroad Rocky Mountain States and Oregon. crossties, mine timbers, fuel, fence posts, and poles. Lumber

1–16 is used for framing material, tank construction, and boxes, may be obtained of a particular wood. The references at the pallets, and crates. The production of tamarack lumber has end of this chapter contain information on many species not declined in recent years. described in this section.

White-Cedar, Northern and Atlantic Hardwoods Two species of white-cedar grow in the eastern part of the Afara (see Limba) United States: northern white-cedar (Thuja occidentalis) and Atlantic white-cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides). Northern Afrormosia white-cedar is also known as arborvitae or simply as cedar. Afrormosia or kokrodua (Pericopsis elata), a large West Atlantic white-cedar is also known as southern white-cedar, African tree, is sometimes used as a substitute for teak swamp-cedar, and boat-cedar. Northern white-cedar grows (Tectona grandis). from Maine along the Appalachians and westward through the northern part of the Great Lake States. Atlantic white- The heartwood is fine textured, with straight to interlocked cedar grows near the Atlantic Coast from Maine to northern grain. The wood is brownish yellow with darker streaks and Florida and westward along the Gulf Coast to Louisiana. It moderately hard and heavy, weighing about 700 kg/m3 is strictly a swamp tree. Production of northern white-cedar (43 lb/ft3) at 15% moisture content. The wood strongly lumber is greatest in Maine and the Great Lake States. Pro- resembles teak in appearance but lacks its oily nature and has duction of Atlantic white-cedar centers in North Carolina and a different texture. The wood dries readily with little degrade along the Gulf Coast. and has good dimensional stability. It is somewhat heavier and stronger than teak. The heartwood is highly resistant to The heartwood of white-cedar is light brown, and the sap- decay fungi and termite attack and is extremely durable under wood is white or nearly so. The sapwood is usually narrow. adverse conditions. The wood is lightweight, rather soft, and low in strength and shock resistance. It shrinks little in drying. It is easily Afrormosia is often used for the same purposes as teak, such worked and holds paint well, and the heartwood is highly as boat construction, joinery, flooring, furniture, interior resistant to decay. Northern and Atlantic white-cedar are used woodwork, and decorative veneer. for similar purposes, primarily for poles, cabin logs, railroad crossties, lumber, posts, and decorative fencing. White-cedar Albarco lumber is used principally where a high degree of durability Albarco, or jequitiba as it is known in Brazil, is the com- is needed, as in tanks and boats, and for wooden ware. mon name applied to species in the genus Cariniana. The Yellow-Cedar 10 species are distributed from eastern Peru and northern Bolivia through central Brazil to Venezuela and Colombia. Yellow-cedar (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis) grows in the Pacific Coast region of North America from southeastern The heartwood is reddish or purplish brown and sometimes Alaska southward through Washington to southern Oregon. has dark streaks. It is usually not sharply demarcated from the pale brown sapwood. The texture is medium and the The heartwood of yellow-cedar is bright, clear yellow. The grain straight to interlocked. Albarco can be worked satisfac- sapwood is narrow, white to yellowish, and hardly distin- torily with only slight blunting of tool cutting edges because guishable from the heartwood. The wood is fine textured and of the presence of silica. Veneer can be cut without difficulty. generally straight grained. It is moderately heavy, moderately The wood is rather strong and moderately heavy, weighing strong and stiff, moderately hard, and moderately high in about 560 kg/m3 (35 lb/ft3) at 12% moisture content. In shock resistance. Yellow-cedar shrinks little in drying and is general, the wood has about the same strength as that of U.S. stable after drying, and the heartwood is very resistant to oaks (Quercus spp.). The heartwood is durable, particularly decay. The wood has a mild, distinctive odor. the deeply colored material. It has good resistance to dry- wood termite attack. Yellow-cedar is used for interior woodwork, furniture, small boats, cabinetwork, and novelties. Albarco is primarily used for general construction and carpen- try wood, but it can also be used for furniture components, Imported Woods shipbuilding, flooring, veneer for plywood, and turnery. This section does not purport to describe all the woods that Amaranth (see Purpleheart) have been at one time or another imported into the United States. It includes only those species that at present are Anani (see Manni) considered to be commercially important. The same species Anaura (see Marishballi) may be marketed in the United States under other common names. Because of the variation in common names, many Andiroba cross-references are included. Text information is necessarily Because of the widespread distribution of andiroba (Carapa brief, but when used in conjunction with the shrinkage and guianensis) in tropical America, the wood is known under a strength data tables (Ch. 3 and 4), a reasonably good picture variety of names, including cedro macho, carapa, crabwood,

1–17 and tangare. These names are also applied to the related where it forms fairly dense but localized and discontinuous species Carapa nicaraguensis, whose properties are gener- timber stands. ally inferior to those of C. guianensis. The wood is cream to pale yellow with high natural luster; it The heartwood varies from medium to dark reddish brown. eventually darkens to a golden yellow. The grain is some- The texture is like that of true mahogany (Swietenia macro- times straight but more often wavy or irregularly interlocked, phylla), and andiroba is sometimes substituted for true ma- which produces an unusual and attractive mottled figure hogany. The grain is usually interlocked but is rated easy to when sliced or cut on the quarter. Although avodire weighs work, paint, and glue. The wood is rated as durable to very less than northern red oak (Quercus rubra), it has almost durable with respect to decay and insects. Andiroba is heav- identical strength properties except that it is lower in shock ier than true mahogany and accordingly is markedly superior resistance and shear. The wood works fairly easily with hand in all static bending properties, compression parallel to and machine tools and finishes well in most operations. grain, hardness, shear, and durability. Figured material is usually converted into veneer for use in On the basis of its properties, andiroba appears to be suited decorative work, and it is this kind of material that is chiefly for such uses as flooring, frame construction in the tropics, imported into the United States. Other uses include furniture, furniture and cabinetwork, millwork, utility and decorative fine joinery, cabinetwork, and paneling. veneer, and plywood. Azobe (Ekki) Angelin (see Sucupira) Azobe or ekki (Lophira alata) is found in West Africa and Angelique extends into the Congo basin. Angelique (Dicorynia guianensis) comes from French The heartwood is dark red, chocolate-brown, or purple– Guiana and Suriname. brown with conspicuous white deposits in the pores Because of the variability in heartwood color between differ- (vessels). The texture is coarse, and the grain is usually interlocked. The wood is strong, and its density averages ent trees, two forms are commonly recognized by producers. 3 3 (70 lb/ft ) at 12% moisture content. It is The heartwood that is russet-colored when freshly cut and about 1,120 kg/m very difficult to work with hand and machine tools, and tools becomes superficially dull brown with a purplish cast is are severely blunted if the wood is machined when dry. referred to as “gris.” The heartwood that is more distinctly Azobe can be dressed to a smooth finish, and gluing proper- reddish and frequently shows wide purplish bands is called ties are usually good. Drying is very difficult without exces- “angelique rouge.” The texture of the wood is somewhat sive degrade. The heartwood is rated as very durable against coarser than that of black walnut (Juglans nigra), and the decay but only moderately resistant to termite attack. Azobe grain is generally straight or slightly interlocked. In strength, is very resistant to acid and has good weathering properties. angelique is superior to teak (Tectona grandis) and white It is also resistant to teredo attack. The heartwood is oak (Quercus alba), when green or air dry, in all properties extremely resistant to preservative treatment. except tension perpendicular to grain. Angelique is rated as highly resistant to decay and resistant to marine borer attack. Azobe is excellent for heavy construction work, harbor con- Machining properties vary and may be due to differences in struction, heavy-duty flooring, and railroad crossties. density, moisture content, and silica content. After the wood is thoroughly air or kiln dried, it can be worked effectively Bagtikan (see Seraya, White) only with carbide-tipped tools. Balata The strength and durability of angelique make it especially Balata or bulletwood (Manilkara bidentata) is widely dis- suitable for heavy construction, harbor installations, bridges, tributed throughout the West Indies, Central America, and heavy planking for pier and platform decking, and railroad northern South America. bridge ties. The wood is also suitable for ship decking, planking, boat frames, industrial flooring, and parquet blocks The heartwood of balata is light to dark reddish brown and and strips. not sharply demarcated from the pale brown sapwood. Tex- ture is fine and uniform, and the grain is straight to occasion- Apa (see Wallaba) ally wavy or interlocked. Balata is a strong and very heavy 3 3 Apamate (see Roble) wood; density of air-dried wood is 1,060 kg/m (66 lb/ft ). It is generally difficult to air dry, with a tendency to develop Apitong (see Keruing) severe checking and warp. The wood is moderately easy to Avodire work despite its high density, and it is rated good to excel- lent in all machining operations. Balata is very resistant to Avodire (Turraeanthus africanus) has a rather extensive attack by decay fungi and highly resistant to subterranean range in Africa, from Sierra Leone westward to the Congo termites but only moderately resistant to dry-wood termites. region and southward to Zaire and Angola. It is most com- mon in the eastern region of the Ivory Coast and is scattered elsewhere. Avodire is a medium-size tree of the rainforest

1–18 Balata is suitable for heavy construction, textile and pulpmill generally mixed in the trade. The main commercial supply of equipment, furniture parts, turnery, tool handles, flooring, cuangare comes from Colombia and Ecuador. Banak and boat frames and other bentwork, railroad crossties, violin cuangare are common in swamp and marsh forests and may bows, billiard cues, and other specialty uses. occur in almost pure stands in some areas. Balau The heartwood of both banak and cuangare is usually pinkish Balau, red balau, and selangan batu constitute a group of or grayish brown and is generally not differentiated from the species that are the heaviest of the 200 Shorea species. About sapwood. The wood is straight grained and is of a medium 45 species of this group grow from Sri Lanka and southern to coarse texture. The various species are nonresistant to India through southeast Asia to the Philippines. decay and insect attack but can be readily treated with pre- servatives. Machining properties are very good, but when The heartwood is light to deep red or purple–brown, and it zones of tension wood are present, machining may result in is fairly distinct from the lighter and yellowish- to reddish- surface fuzziness. The wood finishes readily and is easily or purplish-brown sapwood. The texture is moderately fine glued. Strength properties of banak and cuangare are similar to coarse, and the grain is often interlocked. The wood to those of yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera). weighs more than 750 kg/m3 (47 lb/ft3) at 12% moisture content. Balau is a heavy, hard, and strong timber that dries Banak is considered a general utility wood for lumber, ve- slowly with moderate to severe end checks and splits. The neer, and plywood. It is also used for moulding, millwork, heartwood is durable to moderately durable and very resistant and furniture components. to preservative treatments. Benge (Ehie, Bubinga) Balau is used for heavy construction, frames of boats, deck- Although benge (Guibourtia arnoldiana), ehie or ovangkol ing, flooring, and utility furniture. (Guibourtia ehie), and bubinga (Guibourtia spp.) belong to the same West African genus, they differ rather markedly in Balau, Red (see Balau) color and somewhat in texture. Balsa The heartwood of benge is pale yellowish brown to medium Balsa (Ochroma pyramidale) is widely distributed through- brown with gray to almost black stripes. Ehie heartwood out tropical America from southern Mexico to southern tends to be more golden brown to dark brown with gray to Brazil and Bolivia, but Ecuador has been the principal source almost black stripes. Bubinga heartwood is pink, vivid red, of supply since the wood gained commercial importance. It or red–brown with purple streaks, and it becomes yellow or is usually found at lower elevations, especially on bottom- medium brown with a reddish tint upon exposure to air. The land soils along streams and in clearings and cutover forests. texture of ehie is moderately coarse, whereas that of benge Today, it is often cultivated in plantations. and bubinga is fine to moderately fine. All three woods are moderately hard and heavy, but they can be worked well Several characteristics make balsa suitable for a wide variety with hand and machine tools. They are listed as moderately of uses. It is the lightest and softest of all woods on the durable and resistant to preservative treatment. Drying may market. The lumber selected for use in the United States be difficult, but with care, the wood dries well. weighs, on the average, about 180 kg/m3 (11 lb/ft3) when dry 3 3 and often as little as 100 kg/m (6 lb/ft ). The wood is read- These woods are used in turnery, flooring, furniture compo- ily recognized by its light weight; nearly white or oatmeal nents, cabinetwork, and decorative veneers. color, often with a yellowish or pinkish hue; and unique velvety feel. Brown Silverballi (see Kaneelhart) Because of its light weight and exceedingly porous composi- Bubinga (see Benge) tion, balsa is highly efficient in uses where buoyancy, insula- Bulletwood (see Balata) tion against heat or cold, or low propagation of sound and vibration are important. Principal uses are for life-saving Carapa (see Andiroba) equipment, floats, rafts, corestock, insulation, cushioning, sound modifiers, models, and novelties. Cativo Cativo (Prioria copaifera) is one of the few tropical Ameri- Banak (Cuangare) can species that occur in abundance and often in nearly pure Various species of banak (Virola) occur in tropical America, stands. Commercial stands are found in Nicaragua, Costa from Belize and Guatemala southward to Venezuela, the Rica, Panama, and Colombia. Guianas, the Amazon region of northern Brazil, and southern Sapwood may be very pale pink or distinctly reddish, and it Brazil, and on the Pacific Coast to Peru and Bolivia. Most of is usually wide. In trees up to 76 cm (30 in.) in diameter, the wood known as banak is V. koschnyi of Central America heartwood may be only 18 cm (7 in.) in diameter. The grain and V. surinamensis and V. sebifera of northern South is straight and the texture of the wood is uniform, compara- America. Botanically, cuangare (Dialyanthera) is closely ble with that of true mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla). On related to banak, and the woods are so similar that they are flat-sawn surfaces, the figure is rather subdued as a result of

1–19 exposure of the narrow bands of parenchyma tissue. The sapwood, is salmon red to orange–brown when freshly cut wood can be dried rapidly and easily with very little degrade. and becomes russet or reddish brown when dried. The heart- Dimensional stability is very good—practically equal to that wood is often marked with dark streaks. The texture is me- of true mahogany. Cativo is classified as a nondurable wood dium to rather coarse, and the grain is mostly interlocked. with respect to decay and insects. It may contain appreciable The wood is hard and heavy (about 800 kg/m3 (50 lb/ft3) at quantities of gum. In wood that has been properly dried, 12% moisture content). The strength properties of courbaril however, the aromatics in the gum are removed and there is are quite high and very similar to those of shagbark hickory no difficulty in finishing. (Carya ovata), a species of lower specific gravity. Courbaril is rated as moderately to very resistant to attack by decay Considerable quantities of cativo are used for interior wood- fungi and dry-wood termites. The heartwood is not treatable, work, and resin-stabilized veneer is an important pattern but the sapwood is treatable with preservatives. Courbaril is material. Cativo is widely used for furniture and cabinet moderately difficult to saw and machine because of its high parts, lumber core for plywood, picture frames, edge banding density, but it can be machined to a smooth surface. Turn- for doors, joinery, and millwork. ing, gluing, and finishing properties are satisfactory. Planing, however, is somewhat difficult because of the interlocked Cedro (see Spanish-Cedar) grain. Courbaril compares favorably with white oak (Quercus Cedro Macho (see Andiroba) alba) in steam bending behavior. Cedro-Rana (see Tornillo) Courbaril is used for tool handles and other applications that require good shock resistance. It is also used for steam-bent Ceiba parts, flooring, turnery, furniture and cabinetwork, veneer and Ceiba (Ceiba pentandra) is a large tree, which grows to plywood, railroad crossties, and other specialty items. 66 m (200 ft) in height with a straight cylindrical bole 13 to 20 m (40 to 60 ft) long. Trunk diameters of 2 m (6 ft) or Crabwood (see Andiroba) more are common. Ceiba grows in West Africa, from the Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone to Liberia, Nigeria, and the Cristobal (see Macawood) Congo region. A related species is lupuna (Ceiba samauma) Cuangare (see Banak) from South America. Degame Sapwood and heartwood are not clearly demarcated. The Degame or lemonwood (Calycophyllum candidissimum) wood is whitish, pale brown, or pinkish brown, often with grows in Cuba and ranges from southern Mexico through yellowish or grayish streaks. The texture is coarse, and the Central America to Colombia and Venezuela. It may grow in grain is interlocked or occasionally irregular. Ceiba is very 3 pure stands and is common on shaded hillsides and along soft and light; density of air-dried wood is 320 kg/m waterways. (20 lb/ft3). In strength, the wood is comparable with bass- wood (Tilia americana). Ceiba dries rapidly without marked The heartwood of degame ranges from light brown to oat- deterioration. It is difficult to saw cleanly and dress smoothly meal-colored and is sometimes grayish. The sapwood is because of the high percentage of tension wood. It provides lighter in color and merges gradually with the heartwood. good veneer and is easy to nail and glue. Ceiba is very The texture is fine and uniform. The grain is usually straight susceptible to attack by decay fungi and insects. It requires or infrequently shows shallow interlocking, which may rapid harvest and conversion to prevent deterioration. Treat- produce a narrow and indistinct stripe on quartered faces. In ability, however, is rated as good. strength, degame is above the average for woods of similar density; density of air-dried wood is 817 kg/m3 (51 lb/ft3). Ceiba is available in large sizes, and its low density com- Tests show degame superior to persimmon (Diospyros bined with a rather high degree of dimensional stability make virginiana) in all respects but hardness. Natural durability is it ideal for pattern and corestock. Other uses include block- low when degame is used under conditions favorable to board, boxes and crates, joinery, and furniture components. stain, decay, and insect attack. However, degame is reported to be highly resistant to marine borers. Degame is moder- Chewstick (see Manni) ately difficult to machine because of its density and hardness, although it does not dull cutting tools to any extent. Ma- Courbaril (Jatoba) chined surfaces are very smooth. The genus Hymenaea consists of about 25 species that occur in the West Indies and from southern Mexico through Cen- Degame is little used in the United States, but its character- tral America into the Amazon basin of South America. The istics have made it particularly adaptable for shuttles, picker best-known and most important species is H. courbaril, sticks, and other textile industry items that require resilience which occurs throughout the range of the genus. Courbaril is and strength. Degame was once prized for the manufacture of often called jatoba in Brazil. archery bows and fishing rods. It is also suitable for tool handles and turnery. Sapwood of courbaril is gray–white and usually quite wide. The heartwood, which is sharply differentiated from the

1–20 Determa medium and uniform. The grain varies from straight to Determa (Ocotea rubra) is native to the Guianas, Trinidad, interlocked and wavy. and the lower Amazon region of Brazil. Goncalo alves turns readily, finishes very smoothly, and The heartwood is light reddish brown with a golden sheen takes a high natural polish. The heartwood is highly resis- and distinct from the dull gray or pale yellowish brown tant to moisture absorption; pigmented areas may present sapwood. The texture is rather coarse, and the grain is inter- some difficulties in gluing because of their high density. The locked to straight. Determa is a moderately strong and heavy heartwood is very durable and resistant to both white- and 3 brown-rot organisms. The high density (1,010 kg/m3 wood (density of air-dried wood is 640 to 720 kg/m (40 to 3 45 lb/ft3)); this wood is moderately difficult to air dry. It can (63 lb/ft )) of the air-dried wood is accompanied by equally be worked readily with hand and machine tools with little high strength values, which are considerably higher in most dulling effect. It can be glued readily and polished fairly well. respects than those of any U.S. species. Despite its strength, The heartwood is durable to very durable in resistance to however, goncalo alves is imported primarily for its beauty. decay fungi and moderately resistant to dry-wood termites. In the United States, goncalo alves has the greatest value for Weathering characteristics are excellent, and the wood is specialty items such as archery bows, billiard cue butts, highly resistant to moisture absorption. brushbacks, and cutlery handles, and in turnery and carving Uses for determa include furniture, general construction, boat applications. planking, tanks and cooperage, heavy marine construction, turnery, and parquet flooring. Greenheart Greenheart (Chlorocardium rodiei [= Ocotea rodiei]) is Ehie (see Benge) essentially a Guyana tree although small stands also occur in Suriname. Ekki (see Azobe) Ekop The heartwood varies from light to dark olive green or nearly black. The texture is fine and uniform, and the grain is Ekop or gola (Tetraberlinia tubmaniana) grows only in straight to wavy. Greenheart is stronger and stiffer than white Liberia. oak (Quercus alba) and generally more difficult to work with tools because of its high density; density of air-dried wood is The heartwood is light reddish brown and is distinct from 3 3 the lighter colored sapwood, which may be up to 5 cm more than 960 kg/m (60 lb/ft ). The heartwood is rated as (2 in.) wide. The wood is medium to coarse textured, and very resistant to decay fungi and termites. It is also very the grain is interlocked, with a narrow striped pattern on resistant to marine borers in temperate waters but much less quartered surfaces. The wood weighs about 735 kg/m3 so in warm tropical waters. (46 lb/ft3) at 12% moisture content. It dries fairly well but Greenheart is used principally where strength and resistance with a marked tendency to end and surface checks. Ekop to wear are required. Uses include ship and dock building, works well with hand and machine tools and is an excellent lock gates, wharves, piers, jetties, vats, piling, planking, wood for turnery. It also slices well into veneer and has good industrial flooring, bridges, and some specialty items gluing properties. The heartwood is only moderately durable (fishing rods and billiard cue butts). and is moderately resistant to impregnation with preservative treatments. Guatambu (see Pau Marfim) Ekop is a general utility wood that is used for veneer, Guayacan (see Ipe) plywood, and furniture components. Hura Encino (see Oak) Hura (Hura crepitans) grows throughout the West Indies Gola (see Ekop) from Central America to northern Brazil and Bolivia. Goncalo Alves It is a large tree, commonly reaching a height of 30 to 43 m Most imports of goncalo alves (Astronium graveolens and (90 to 130 ft), with clear boles of 12 to 23 m (40 to 75 ft). A. fraxinifolium) have been from Brazil. These species range The diameter often reaches 1 to 1.5 m (3 to 5 ft) and occa- from southern Mexico through Central America into the sionally to 3 m (9 ft). Amazon basin. The pale yellowish-brown or pale olive-gray heartwood is Freshly cut heartwood is russet brown, orange–brown, or indistinct from the yellowish-white sapwood. The texture is reddish brown to red with narrow to wide, irregular, me- fine to medium and the grain straight to interlocked. Hura is a low-strength and low-density wood (density of air-dried dium- to very-dark brown stripes. After exposure to air, the 3 3 heartwood becomes brown, red, or dark reddish brown with wood is 240 to 448 kg/m (15 to 28 lb/ft )); the wood is nearly black stripes. The sapwood is grayish white and moderately difficult to air dry. Warping is variable and some- sharply demarcated from the heartwood. The texture is fine to times severe. The wood usually machines easily, but green material is somewhat difficult to work because of tension

1–21 wood, which results in a fuzzy surface. The wood finishes Ipe is used almost exclusively for heavy-duty and durable well and is easy to glue and nail. Hura is variable in resis- construction. Because of its hardness and good dimensional tance to attack by decay fungi, but it is highly susceptible to stability, it is particularly well suited for heavy-duty flooring blue stain and very susceptible to wood termites. However, in trucks and boxcars. It is also used for decks, railroad the wood is easy to treat with preservative. crossties, turnery, tool handles, decorative veneers, and some specialty items in textile mills. Hura is often used in general carpentry, boxes and crates, and lower grade furniture. Other important uses are veneer and Ipil (see Merbau) plywood, fiberboard, and particleboard. Iroko Ilomba Iroko consists of two species (Milicia excelsa [= Chloro- Ilomba (Pycnanthus angolensis) is a tree of the rainforest and phora excelsa] and M. regia [= C. regia]). Milicia excelsa ranges from Guinea and Sierra Leone through tropical West grows across the entire width of tropical Africa from the Ivory Africa to Uganda and Angola. Common names include Coast southward to Angola and eastward to East Africa. pycnanthus, walele, and otie. Milicia regia, however, is limited to extreme West Africa from Gambia to Ghana; it is less resistant to drought than is The wood is grayish white to pinkish brown and, in some M. excelsa. trees, a uniform light brown. There is generally no distinc- tion between heartwood and sapwood. The texture is me- The heartwood varies from a pale yellowish brown to dark dium to coarse, and the grain is generally straight. This chocolate brown with light markings occurring most con- species is generally similar to banak (Virola) but has a spicuously on flat-sawn surfaces; the sapwood is yellowish coarser texture. Air-dry density is about 512 kg/m3 white. The texture is medium to coarse, and the grain is (31 lb/ft3), and the wood is about as strong as yellow-poplar typically interlocked. Iroko can be worked easily with hand (Liriodendron tulipifera). Ilomba dries rapidly but is prone or machine tools but with some tearing of interlocked grain. to collapse, warp, and splits. It is easily sawn and can be Occasional deposits of calcium carbonate severely damage worked well with hand and machine tools. It is excellent for cutting edges. The wood dries rapidly with little or no degrade. The strength is similar to that of red maple veneer and has good gluing and nailing characteristics. Green 3 3 wood is subject to insect and fungal attack. Logs require (Acer rubrum), and the weight is about 688 kg/m (43 lb/ft ) rapid extraction and conversion to avoid degrade. Both at 12% moisture content. The heartwood is very resistant to sapwood and heartwood are permeable and can be treated decay fungi and resistant to termite and marine borer attack. with preservatives. Because of its color and durability, iroko has been suggested In the United States, this species is used only in the form of as a substitute for teak (Tectona grandis). Its durability plywood for general utility purposes. However, ilomba is makes it suitable for boat building, piles, other marine work, definitely suited for furniture components, interior joinery, and railroad crossties. Other uses include joinery, flooring, and general utility purposes. furniture, veneer, and cabinetwork.

Ipe Jacaranda (see Rosewood, Brazilian) Ipe, the common name for the lapacho group of the genus Jarrah Tabebuia, consists of about 20 species of trees and occurs in Jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) is native to the coastal belt of practically every Latin America country except Chile. Other southwestern Australia and is one of the principal species for commonly used names are guayacan and lapacho. that country’s sawmill industry. Sapwood is relatively wide, yellowish gray or gray–brown, The heartwood is a uniform pink to dark red, often turning and sharply differentiated from heartwood, which is light to to deep brownish red with age and exposure to air. The dark olive brown. The texture is fine to medium. The grain sapwood is pale and usually very narrow in old trees. The is straight to very irregular and often narrowly interlocked. texture is even and moderately coarse, and the grain is fre- The wood is very heavy and averages about 1,025 kg/m3 3 quently interlocked or wavy. The wood weighs about (64 lb/ft ) at 12% moisture content. Thoroughly air-dried 865 kg/m3 (54 lb/ft3) at 12% moisture content. The common heartwood specimens generally sink in water. Because of its defects of jarrah include gum veins or pockets, which in high density and hardness, ipe is moderately difficult to extreme instances, separate the log into concentric shells. machine, but glassy smooth surfaces can be produced. Ipe is Jarrah is a heavy, hard timber possessing correspondingly very strong; in the air-dried condition, it is comparable with high strength properties. It is resistant to attack by termites greenheart (Chlorocardium rodiei). Hardness is two to three and rated as very durable with respect to decay. The wood is times that of white oak (Quercus alba) or keruing (Diptero- difficult to work with hand and machine tools because of its carpus). The wood is highly resistant to decay and insects, high density and irregular grain. including both subterranean and dry-wood termites, but susceptible to marine borer attack. The heartwood is imper- Jarrah is used for decking and underframing of piers, jetties, meable, but the sapwood can be readily treated with and bridges, as well as piles and fenders for docks and preservatives.

1–22 harbors. As flooring, jarrah has high resistance to wear, but it 12% moisture content. Strength properties are similar to is inclined to splinter under heavy traffic. It is also used for those of keruing at comparable specific gravity. The heart- railroad crossties and other heavy construction. wood is rated resistant to attack by decay fungi; it is reported to be vulnerable to termites. Kapur is extremely resistant to Jatoba (see Courbaril) preservative treatment. The wood works with moderate ease in most hand and machine operations, but blunting of cutters Jelutong may be severe because of silica content, particularly when the Jelutong (Dyera costulata) is an important species in Malay- dry wood is machined. A good surface can be obtained from sia where it is best known for its latex production in the various machining operations, but there is a tendency toward manufacture of chewing gum rather than for its wood. raised grain if dull cutters are used. Kapur takes nails and screws satisfactorily. The wood glues well with urea formal- The wood is white or straw colored, and there is no differen- dehyde but not with phenolic adhesives. tiation between heartwood and sapwood. The texture is moderately fine and even. The grain is straight, and luster is 3 3 Kapur provides good and very durable construction wood low. The wood weighs about 465 kg/m (28 lb/ft ) at 12% and is suitable for all purposes for which keruing moisture content. The wood is very easy to dry with little (Dipterocarpus) is used in the United States. In addition, tendency to split or warp, but staining may cause trouble. It kapur is extensively used in plywood either alone or with is easy to work in all operations, finishes well, and glues species of Shorea (lauan–meranti). satisfactorily. The wood is rated as nondurable but readily permeable to preservatives. Karri Because of its low density and ease of working, jelutong is Karri (Eucalyptus diversicolor) is a very large tree limited to well suited for sculpture and pattern making, wooden shoes, southwestern Australia. picture frames, and drawing boards. Karri resembles jarrah (E. marginata) in structure and general appearance. It is usually paler in color and, on average, Jequitiba (see Albarco) 3 3 slightly heavier (913 kg/m (57 lb/ft )) at 12% moisture Kakaralli (see Manbarklak) content. Karri is a heavy hardwood with mechanical proper- ties of a correspondingly high order, even somewhat higher Kaneelhart than that of jarrah. The heartwood is rated as moderately Kaneelhart or brown silverballi are names applied to the durable, though less so than that of jarrah. It is extremely genus Licaria. Species of this genus grow mostly in New difficult to treat with preservatives. The wood is fairly hard Guinea and Papau New Guinea and are found in association to machine and difficult to cut with hand tools. It is gener- with greenheart (Chlorocardium rodiei) on hilly terrain and ally more resistant to cutting than is jarrah and has a slightly wallaba (Eperua) in forests. more dulling effect on tool edges. The orange or brownish yellow heartwood darkens to yel- Karri is inferior to jarrah for underground use and water- lowish or coffee brown on exposure to air. The wood is works. However, where flexural strength is required, such as sometimes tinged with red or violet. The texture is fine to in bridges, floors, rafters, and beams, karri is an excellent medium, and the grain is straight to slightly interlocked. wood. Karri is popular in heavy construction because of its The wood has a fragrant odor, which is lost in drying. strength and availability in large sizes and long lengths that Kaneelhart is a very strong and very heavy wood (density of are free of defects. air-dried wood is 833 to 1,153 kg/m3 (52 to 72 lb/ft3)); the wood is difficult to work. It cuts smoothly and takes an Kauta (see Marishballi) excellent finish but requires care in gluing. Kaneelhart has Kempas excellent resistance to both brown- and white-rot fungi and is also rated very high in resistance to dry-wood termites. Kempas (Koompassia malaccensis) is distributed throughout the lowland forest in rather swampy areas of Malaysia and Uses of kaneelhart include furniture, turnery, boat building, Indonesia. heavy construction, and parquet flooring. When exposed to air, the freshly cut brick-red heartwood Kapur darkens to an orange–red or red–brown with numerous yel- The genus Dryobalanops consists of nine species distributed low–brown streaks as a result of the soft tissue (axial paren- over parts of Malaysia and Indonesia. For the export trade, chyma) associated with the pores. The texture is rather coarse, and the grain is typically interlocked. Kempas is a the species are combined under the name kapur. 3 hard, heavy wood (density of air-dried wood is 880 kg/m 3 The heartwood is reddish brown and clearly demarcated from (55 lb/ft )); the wood is difficult to work with hand and the pale sapwood. The wood is fairly coarse textured but machine tools. The wood dries well, with some tendency to uniform. In general, the wood resembles keruing warp and check. The heartwood is resistant to attack by (Dipterocarpus), but on the whole, kapur is straighter decay fungi but vulnerable to termite activity. However, it grained and not quite as coarse in texture. Density of the treats readily with preservative retention as high as 3 3 wood averages about 720 to 800 kg/m3 (45 to 50 lb/ft3) at 320 kg/m (20 lb/ft ).

1–23 Kempas is ideal for heavy construction work, railroad Lignumvitae is one of the heaviest and hardest woods on the crossties, and flooring. market. The wood is characterized by its unique green color and oily or waxy feel. The wood has a fine uniform texture Keruing (Apitong) and closely interlocked grain. Its resin content may consti- Keruing or apitong (Dipterocarpus) is widely scattered tute up to one-fourth of the air-dried weight of the heartwood. throughout the Indo-Malaysian region. Most of the more than 70 species in this genus are marketed under the name Lignumvitae wood is used chiefly for bearing or bushing keruing. Other important species are marketed as apitong in blocks for ship propeller shafts. The great strength and tenac- the Philippine Islands and yang in Thailand. ity of lignumvitae, combined with self-lubricating properties resulting from the high resin content, make it especially The heartwood varies from light to dark red–brown or brown adaptable for underwater use. It is also used for such articles to dark brown, sometimes with a purple tint; the heartwood as mallets, pulley sheaves, caster wheels, stencil and chisel is usually well defined from the gray or buff-colored blocks, and turned products. sapwood. Similar to kapur (Dryobalanops), the texture of keruing is moderately coarse and the grain is straight or Limba shallowly interlocked. The wood is strong, hard, and heavy Limba (Terminalia superba), also referred to as afara, is (density of air-dried wood is 720 to 800 kg/m3 (45 to 3 widely distributed from Sierra Leone to Angola and Zaire in 50 lb/ft )); this wood is characterized by the presence of resin the rainforest and savanna forest. Limba is also favored as a ducts, which occur singly or in short arcs as seen on end- plantation species in West Africa. grain surfaces. This resinous condition and the presence of silica can present troublesome problems. Sapwood and The heartwood varies from gray–white to creamy or yellow heartwood are moderately resistant to preservative treatments. brown and may contain dark streaks that are nearly black, However, the wood should be treated with preservatives producing an attractive figure that is valued for decorative when it is used in contact with the ground. Durability varies veneer. The light color of the wood is considered an impor- with species, but the wood is generally classified as moder- tant asset for the manufacture of blond furniture. The wood is ately durable. Keruing generally takes to sawing and machin- generally straight grained and of uniform but coarse texture. ing, particularly when green, but saws and cutters dull easily The wood is easy to dry and shrinkage is reported to be as a result of high silica content in the wood. Resin adheres rather low. Limba is not resistant to decay, insects, or ter- to machinery and tools and may be troublesome. Also, resin mites. It is easy to work with all types of tools and is made may cause gluing and finishing difficulties. into veneer without difficulty. Keruing is used for general construction work, framework for Principal uses include plywood, furniture, interior joinery, boats, flooring, pallets, chemical processing equipment, and sliced decorative veneer. veneer and plywood, railroad crossties (if treated), truck floors, and boardwalks. Macacauba (see Macawood)

Khaya (see Mahogany, African) Macawood (Trebol) Macawood and trebol are common names applied to species Kokrodua (see Afrormosia) in the genus Platymiscium. Other common names include Korina (see Limba) cristobal and macacauba. This genus is distributed across continental tropical America from southern Mexico to the Krabak (see Mersawa) Brazilian Amazon region and Trinidad. Kwila (see Merbau) The bright red to reddish or purplish brown heartwood is Lapacho (see Ipe) more or less striped. Darker specimens look waxy, and the sapwood is sharply demarcated from the heartwood. The Lapuna (see Ceiba) texture is medium to fine, and the grain is straight to curly Lauan (see Meranti Groups) or striped. The wood is not very difficult to work, and it finishes smoothly and takes on a high polish. Generally, Lemonwood (see Degame) macawood air dries slowly with a slight tendency to warp Lignumvitae and check. Strength is quite high, and density of air-dried wood ranges from 880 to 1,170 kg/m3 (55 to 73 lb/ft3). The For many years, the only species of lignumvitae used on a heartwood is reported to be highly resistant to attack by large scale was Guaiacum officinale, which is native to the decay fungi, insects, and dry-wood termites. Although the West Indies, northern Venezuela, northern Colombia, and sapwood absorbs preservatives well, the heartwood is resis- Panama. With the near exhaustion of G. officinale, harvest- tant to treatment. ers turned to G. sanctum, which is now the principal com- mercial species. Guaiacum sanctum occupies the same range Macawood is a fine furniture and cabinet wood. It is also as G. officinale but is more extensive and includes the used in decorative veneers, musical instruments, turnery, Pacific side of Central America as well as southern Mexico. joinery, and specialty items such as violin bows and billiard cues.

1–24 Machinmango (see Manbarklak) rotary cuts into fine veneer without difficulty. It also is easy to finish and takes an excellent polish. The air-dried strength Mahogany of American mahogany is similar to that of American elm The name mahogany is presently applied to several distinct (Ulmus americana). Density of air-dried wood varies from kinds of commercial wood. The original mahogany wood, 480 to 833 kg/m3 (30 to 52 lb/ft3). produced by Swietenia mahagoni, came from the American West Indies. This was the premier wood for fine furniture The principal uses for mahogany are fine furniture and cabinet work and shipbuilding in Europe as early as the cabinets, interior woodwork, pattern woodwork, boat con- 1600s. Because the good reputation associated with the name struction, fancy veneers, musical instruments, precision mahogany is based on this wood, American mahogany is instruments, paneling, turnery, carving, and many other uses sometimes referred to as true mahogany. A related African that call for an attractive and dimensionally stable wood. wood, of the genus Khaya, has long been marketed as “African mahogany” and is used for much the same purposes Mahogany, Philippine (see Meranti Groups) as American mahogany because of its similar properties and overall appearance. A third kind of wood called mahogany, Manbarklak and the one most commonly encountered in the market, is Manbarklak is a common name applied to species in the “Philippine mahogany.” This name is applied to a group of genus Eschweilera. Other names include kakaralli machin- Asian woods belonging to the genus Shorea. In this chapter, mango, and mata–mata. About 80 species of this genus are information on the “Philippine mahoganies” is given under distributed from eastern Brazil through the Amazon basin, to lauan and meranti groups. the Guianas, Trinidad, and Costa Rica. Mahogany, African—The bulk of “African mahogany” The heartwood of most species is light, grayish, reddish shipped from west–central Africa is Khaya ivorensis, the brown, or brownish buff. The texture is fine and uniform, and most widely distributed and plentiful species of the genus the grain is typically straight. Manbarklak is a very hard and found in the coastal belt of the so-called high forest. The heavy wood (density of air-dried wood ranges from 768 to closely allied species K. anthotheca has a more restricted 1,185 kg/m3 (48 to 74 lb/ft3)) that is rated as fairly difficult to range and is found farther inland in regions of lower rainfall dry. Most species are difficult to work because of the high but well within the area now being used for the export trade. density and high silica content. Most species are highly resistant to attack by decay fungi. Also, most species have The heartwood varies from pale pink to dark reddish brown. gained wide recognition for their high degree of resistance to The grain is frequently interlocked, and the texture is me- marine borer attack. Resistance to dry-wood termite attack is dium to coarse, comparable with that of American mahogany variable depending on species. (Swietenia macrophylla). The wood is easy to dry, but machining properties are rather variable. Nailing and gluing Manbarklak is an ideal wood for marine and other heavy properties are good, and an excellent finish is readily ob- construction uses. It is also used for industrial flooring, mill tained. The wood is easy to slice and peel. In decay resis- equipment, railroad crossties, piles, and turnery. tance, African mahogany is generally rated as moderately durable, which is below the durability rating for American Manni mahogany. Manni (Symphonia globulifera) is native to the West Indies, Mexico, and Central, North, and South America. It also Principal uses for African mahogany include furniture and occurs in tropical West Africa. Other names include ossol cabinetwork, interior woodwork, boat construction, and (Gabon), anani (Brazil), waika (Africa), and chewstick veneer. (Belize), a name acquired because of its use as a primitive Mahogany, American—True, American, or Honduras toothbrush and flossing tool. mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) ranges from southern The heartwood is yellowish, grayish, or greenish brown and Mexico through Central America into South America as far is distinct from the whitish sapwood. The texture is coarse south as Bolivia. Plantations have been established within and the grain straight to irregular. The wood is very easy to its natural range and elsewhere throughout the tropics. work with both hand and machine tools, but surfaces tend to The heartwood varies from pale pink or salmon colored to roughen in planing and shaping. Manni air-dries rapidly with dark reddish brown. The grain is generally straighter than only moderate warp and checking. Its strength is similar to that of hickory (Carya), and the density of air-dried wood is that of African mahogany (Khaya ivorensis); however, a wide 3 3 variety of grain patterns are obtained from American mahog- 704 kg/m (44 lb/ft ). The heartwood is durable in ground any. The texture is rather fine to coarse. American mahogany contact but only moderately resistant to dry-wood and sub- is easily air or kiln dried without appreciable warp or checks, terranean termites. The wood is rated as resistant to treat- and it has excellent dimensional stability. It is rated as ment with preservatives. durable in resistance to decay fungi and moderately resistant Manni is a general purpose wood that is used for railroad to dry-wood termites. Both heartwood and sapwood are ties, general construction, cooperage, furniture components, resistant to treatment with preservatives. The wood is very flooring, and utility plywood. easy to work with hand and machine tools, and it slices and

1–25 Marishballi All merantis have axial resin ducts aligned in long, continu- Marishballi is the common name applied to species of the ous, tangential lines as seen on the end surface of the wood. genus Licania. Other names include kauta and anaura. Spe- These ducts sometimes contain white deposits that are visi- cies of Licania are widely distributed in tropical America but ble to the naked eye, but the wood is not resinous like some most abundant in the Guianas and the lower Amazon region keruing (Dipterocarpus) species that resemble meranti. All of Brazil. the meranti groups are machined easily except white meranti, which dulls cutters as a result of high silica content in the The heartwood is generally a yellowish to dark brown, wood. The light red and white merantis dry easily without sometimes with a reddish tinge. The texture is fine and degrade, but dark red and yellow merantis dry more slowly close, and the grain is usually straight. Marishballi is strong with a tendency to warp. The strength and shrinkage proper- and very heavy; density of air-dried wood is 833 to ties of the meranti groups compare favorably with that of 1,153 kg/m3 (52 to 72 lb/ft3). The wood is rated as easy to northern red oak (Quercus rubra). The light red, white, and moderately difficult to air dry. Because of its high density yellow merantis are not durable in exposed conditions or in and silica content, marishballi is difficult to work. The use of ground contact, whereas dark red meranti is moderately hardened cutters is suggested to obtain smooth surfaces. durable. Generally, heartwood is extremely resistant to mod- Durability varies with species, but marishballi is generally erately resistant to preservative treatments. considered to have low to moderately low resistance to attack by decay fungi. However, it is known for its high resistance Species of meranti constitute a large percentage of the total to attack by marine borers. Permeability also varies, but the hardwood plywood imported into the United States. Other heartwood is generally moderately responsive to treatment. uses include joinery, furniture and cabinetwork, moulding and millwork, flooring, and general construction. Some dark Marishballi is ideal for underwater marine construction, red meranti is used for decking. heavy construction above ground, and railroad crossties (treated). Merbau Merbau (Malaysia), ipil (Philippines), and kwila (New Mata–Mata (see Manbarklak) Guinea) are names applied to species of the genus Intsia, Mayflower (see Roble) most commonly I. bijuga. Intsia is distributed throughout the Indo–Malaysian region, Indonesia, Philippines, and Melapi (see Meranti Groups) many western Pacific islands, as well as Australia. Meranti Groups Freshly cut yellowish to orange–brown heartwood turns Meranti is a common name applied commercially to four brown or dark red–brown on exposure to air. The texture is groups of species of Shorea from southeast Asia, most com- rather coarse, and the grain is straight to interlocked or wavy. monly Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. There are The strength of air-dried merbau is comparable with that of thousands of common names for the various species of hickory (Carya), but density is somewhat lower (800 kg/m3 Shorea, but the names Philippine mahogany and lauan are (50 lb/ft3) at 12% moisture content). The wood dries well often substituted for meranti. The four groups of meranti are with little degrade but stains black in the presence of iron separated on the basis of heartwood color and weight (Table and moisture. Merbau is rather difficult to saw because it 1–3). About 70 species of Shorea belong to the light and sticks to saw teeth and dulls cutting edges. However, the dark red meranti groups, 22 species to the white meranti wood dresses smoothly in most operations and finishes well. group, and 33 species to the yellow meranti group. Merbau has good durability and high resistance to termite attack. The heartwood resists treatment, but the sapwood can Meranti species as a whole have a coarser texture than that of be treated with preservatives. mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) and do not have dark- colored deposits in pores. The grain is usually interlocked.

Table 1–3. Woods belonging to Shorea and Parashorea genera Name Color Density of air-dried wood

Dark red meranti (also called Dark brown; medium to deep red, some- 640+ kg/m3 (40+ lb/ft3) tanguile and dark red seraya) times with a purplish tinge

Light red meranti (also called Variable—from almost white to pale pink, 400 to 640 kg/m3, averaging 512 kg/m3 red seraya) dark red, pale brown, or deep brown (25 to 40 lb/ft3, averaging 32 lb/ft3)

White meranti (also called melapi) Whitish when freshly cut, becoming light 480 to 870 kg/m3 (30 to 54 lb/ft3) yellow-brown on exposure to air

Yellow meranti (also called yellow Light yellow or yellow-brown, sometimes with 480 to 640 kg/m3 (30 to 40 lb/ft3) seraya) a greenish tinge; darkens on exposure to air

1–26 Merbau is used in furniture, fine joinery, turnery, cabinets, Guatemala; the number diminishes southward to Colombia, flooring, musical instruments, and specialty items. which has two species. The usual Spanish name applied to the oaks is encino or roble, and both names are used inter- Mersawa changeably irrespective of species or use of the wood. Mersawa is one of the common names applied to the genus In heartwood color, texture, and grain characteristics, tropical Anisoptera, which has about 15 species distributed from the oaks are similar to the oaks in the United States, especially Philippine Islands and Malaysia to east Pakistan. Names live oak (Quercus virginiana). In most cases, tropical oaks applied to this wood vary with the source, and three names are heavier (density of air-dried wood is 704 to 993 kg/m3 are generally used in the lumber trade: krabak (Thailand), (44 to 62 lb/ft3)) than the U.S. species. Strength data are mersawa (Malaysia), and palosapis (Philippines). available for only four species, and the values fall between those of white oak (Q. alba) and live oak (Q. virginiana) or Mersawa wood is light in color and has a moderately coarse are equal to those of live oak. Average specific gravity for the texture. Freshly sawn heartwood is pale yellow or yellowish tropical oaks is 0.72 based on volume when green and brown and darkens on exposure to air. Some wood may ovendry weight, with an observed maximum average of 0.86 show a pinkish cast or pink streaks, but these eventually for one species from Guatemala. The heartwood is rated as disappear on exposure to air. The wood weighs between 544 3 3 very resistant to decay fungi and difficult to treat with and 752 kg/m (34 and 47 lb/ft ) at 12% moisture content and about 945 kg/m3 (59 lb/ft3) when green. The sapwood is preservatives. susceptible to attack by powderpost beetles, and the heart- Utilization of the tropical oaks is very limited at present wood is not resistant to termites. The heartwood is rated as because of difficulties encountered in the drying of the wood. moderately resistant to fungal decay and should not be used The major volume is used in the form of charcoal, but the under conditions that favor decay. The heartwood does not wood is used for flooring, railroad crossties, mine timbers, absorb preservative solutions readily. The wood machines tight cooperage, boat and ship construction, and decorative easily, but because of the presence of silica, the wood se- veneers. verely dulls the cutting edges of ordinary tools and is very hard on saws. Obeche Obeche (Triplochiton scleroxylon) trees of west–central Africa The major volume of mersawa will probably be used as reach a height of 50 m (150 ft) or more and a diameter of up plywood because conversion in this form presents considera- to 2 m (5 ft). The trunk is usually free of branches for a bly less difficulty than does the production of lumber. considerable height so that clear lumber of considerable size Mora can be obtained. Mora (Mora excelsa and M. gonggrijpii) is widely distrib- The wood is creamy white to pale yellow with little or no uted in the Guianas and also occurs in the Orinoco Delta of difference between sapwood and heartwood. The wood is Venezuela. fairly soft, of uniform medium to coarse texture, and the grain is usually interlocked but sometimes straight. Air-dry wood The yellowish red–brown, reddish brown, or dark red heart- weighs about 385 kg/m3 (24 lb/ft3). Obeche dries readily wood with pale streaks is distinct from the yellowish to pale with little degrade. It is not resistant to decay, and green brown sapwood. The texture is moderately fine to rather sapwood is subject to blue stain. The wood is easy to work coarse, and the grain is straight to interlocked. Mora is a and machine, veneers and glues well, and takes nails and strong and heavy wood (density of air-dried wood is 945 to screws without splitting. 1,040 kg/m3 (59 to 65 lb/ft3)); this wood is moderately difficult to work but yields smooth surfaces in sawing, plan- The characteristics of obeche make it especially suitable for ing, turning, and boring. The wood is generally rated as veneer and corestock. Other uses include furniture, compo- moderately difficult to dry. Mora is rated as durable to very nents, millwork, blockboard, boxes and crates, particleboard durable in resistance to brown- and white-rot fungi. Mora and fiberboard, patterns, and artificial limbs. gonggrijpii is rated very resistant to dry-wood termites, but M. excelsa is considerably less resistant. The sapwood re- Ofram (see Limba) sponds readily to preservative treatments, but the heartwood resists treatment. Okoume The natural distribution of okoume (Aucoumea klaineana) is Mora is used for industrial flooring, railroad crossties, ship- rather restricted; the species is found only in west–central building, and heavy construction. Africa and Guinea. However, okoume is extensively planted throughout its natural range. Oak (Tropical) The oaks (Quercus) are abundantly represented in Mexico The heartwood is salmon-pink in color, and the narrow and Central America with about 150 species, which are sapwood is whitish or pale gray. The wood has a high luster nearly equally divided between the red and white oak groups. and uniform texture. The texture is slightly coarser than that More than 100 species occur in Mexico and about 25 in of birch (Betula). The nondurable heartwood dries readily with little degrade. Sawn lumber is somewhat difficult to

1–27 machine because of the silica content, but the wood glues, specific gravity, strength values are higher than those of sugar nails, and peels into veneer easily. Okoume offers unusual maple, which has an average specific gravity of 0.56. flexibility in finishing because the color, which is of medium intensity, permits toning to either lighter or darker shades. In its areas of growth, pau marfim is used for much the same purposes as are sugar maple and birch in the United States. In the United States, okoume is generally used for decorative Introduced to the U.S. market in the late 1960s, pau marfim plywood paneling, general utility plywood, and doors. has been very well received and is especially esteemed for Other uses include furniture components, joinery, and light turnery. construction. Peroba, White (see Peroba de Campos) Opepe Peroba de Campos Opepe (Nauclea diderrichii) is widely distributed in Africa from Sierra Leone to the Congo region and eastward to Peroba de campos (Paratecoma peroba), also referred to as Uganda. It is often found in pure stands. white peroba, grows in the coastal forests of eastern Brazil, ranging from Bahia to Rio de Janeiro. It is the only species The orange or golden yellow heartwood darkens on exposure in the genus Paratecoma. to air and is clearly defined from the whitish or pale yellow sapwood. The texture is rather coarse, and the grain is usu- The heartwood varies in color but is generally shades of ally interlocked or irregular. The density of air-dried wood brown with tendencies toward olive and red. The sapwood is 3 3 a yellowish gray and is clearly defined from the heartwood. (752 kg/m (47 lb/ft )) is about the same as that of true hick- ory (Carya), but strength properties are somewhat lower. The texture is relatively fine and approximates that of birch Quartersawn stock dries rapidly with little checking or warp, (Betula). The grain is commonly interlocked, with a narrow but flat-sawn lumber may develop considerable degrade. The stripe or wavy figure. The wood machines easily; however, wood works moderately well with hand and machine tools. particular care must be taken in planing to prevent excessive It also glues and finishes satisfactorily. The heartwood is grain tearing of quartered surfaces. There is some evidence rated as very resistant to decay and moderately resistant to that the fine dust from machining operations may produce allergic responses in certain individuals. Density of air-dried termite attacks. The sapwood is permeable to preservatives, 3 3 (46 lb/ft ). Peroba de cam- but the heartwood is moderately resistant to preservative wood averages about 738 kg/m pos is heavier than teak (Tectona grandis) or white oak treatment. (Quercus alba), and it is proportionately stronger than either Opepe is a general construction wood that is used in dock of these species. The heartwood of peroba de campos is rated and marine work, boat building, railroad crossties, flooring, as very durable with respect to decay and difficult to treat and furniture. with preservatives. In Brazil, peroba de campos is used in the manufacture of fine Ossol (see Manni) furniture, flooring, and decorative paneling. The principal use Otie (see Ilomba) in the United States is shipbuilding, where peroba de cam- pos serves as substitute for white oak (Quercus alba) for all Ovangkol (see Benge) purposes except bent members. Palosapis (see Mersawa) Peroba Rosa Para–Angelim (see Sucupira) Peroba rosa is the common name applied to a number of Pau Marfim similar species in the genus Aspidosperma. These species The range of pau marfim (Balfourodendron riedelianum) is occur in southeastern Brazil and parts of Argentina. rather limited, extending from the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil, into Paraguay and the provinces of Corrientes and Missiones The heartwood is a distinctive rose-red to yellowish, often of northern Argentina. In Brazil, it is generally known as pau variegated or streaked with purple or brown, and becomes marfim and in Argentina and Paraguay, as guatambu. brownish yellow to dark brown upon exposure to air; the heartwood is often not demarcated from the yellowish sap- In color and general appearance, pau marfim wood is very wood. The texture is fine and uniform, and the grain is straight to irregular. The wood is moderately heavy; weight similar to birch (Betula) or sugar maple (Acer saccharum) 3 3 sapwood. Although growth rings are present, they do not of air-dried wood is 752 kg/m (47 lb/ft ). Strength properties show as distinctly as those in birch and maple. There is no are comparable with those of U.S. oak (Quercus). The wood apparent difference in color between heartwood and sapwood. dries with little checking or splitting. It works with moder- The wood is straight grained and easy to work and finish, ate ease, and it glues and finishes satisfactorily. The heart- but it is not considered resistant to decay. In Brazil, average wood is resistant to decay fungi but susceptible to dry-wood specific gravity of pau marfim is about 0.73 based on volume termite attack. Although the sapwood takes preservative of green wood and ovendry weight. Average density of air- treatment moderately well, the heartwood resists treatment. dried wood is about 802 kg/m3 (50 lb/ft3). On the basis of

1–28 Peroba is suited for general construction work and is favored limited because of its rather restricted range and relative for fine furniture and cabinetwork and decorative veneers. scarcity of naturally grown trees. Recent plantations have Other uses include flooring, interior woodwork, sashes and increased the availability of this species and have provided a doors, and turnery. more constant source of supply. The quality of the planta- tion-grown wood is equal in all respects to the wood ob- Pilon tained from naturally grown trees. The two main species of pilon are Hyeronima alchorneoides The heartwood is whitish to straw-yellow, and in some logs, and H. laxiflora, also referred to as suradan. These species it may be tinted with pale brown or pinkish streaks. The range from southern Mexico to southern Brazil including the texture is medium to rather coarse, and the grain is straight Guianas, Peru, and Colombia. Pilon species are also found to wavy, which produces a wide variety of figure patterns. throughout the West Indies. The wood also has a very high luster. Shrinkage is rather The heartwood is a light reddish brown to chocolate brown low, and the wood shows a high degree of dimensional or sometimes dark red; the sapwood is pinkish white. The stability. Despite considerable grain variation, primavera machines remarkably well. The density of air-dried wood is texture is moderately coarse and the grain interlocked. The 3 3 wood air-dries rapidly with only a moderate amount of warp 465 kg/m (29 lb/ft ), and the wood is comparable in strength and checking. It has good working properties in all opera- with water tupelo (Nyssa aquatica). Resistance to both tions except planing, which is rated poor as a result of the brown- and white-rot fungi varies. Weathering characteristics characteristic interlocked grain. The strength of pilon is are good. comparable with that of true hickory (Carya), and the density 3 The dimensional stability, ease of working, and pleasing of air-dried wood ranges from 736 to 849 kg/m (46 to 3 appearance make primavera a suitable choice for solid furni- 53 lb/ft ). Pilon is rated moderately to very durable in ture, paneling, interior woodwork, and special exterior uses. ground contact and resistant to moderately resistant to sub- terranean and dry-wood termites. Both heartwood and sap- Purpleheart wood are reported to be treatable with preservatives by both open tank and pressure vacuum processes. Purpleheart, also referred to as amaranth, is the name applied to species in the genus Peltogyne. The center of distribution Pilon is especially suited for heavy construction, railway is in the north-central part of the Brazilian Amazon region, crossties, marinework, and flooring. It is also used for furni- but the combined range of all species is from Mexico through ture, cabinetwork, decorative veneers, turnery, and joinery. Central America and southward to southern Brazil. Piquia Freshly cut heartwood is brown. It turns a deep purple upon Piquia is the common name generally applied to species in exposure to air and eventually dark brown upon exposure to the genus Caryocar. This genus is distributed from Costa light. The texture is medium to fine, and the grain is usually straight. This strong and heavy wood (density of air-dried Rica southward into northern Colombia and from the upland 3 3 forest of the Amazon valley to eastern Brazil and the wood is 800 to 1,057 kg/m (50 to 66 lb/ft )) is rated as easy Guianas. to moderately difficult to air dry. It is moderately difficult to work with using either hand or machine tools, and it dulls The yellowish to light grayish brown heartwood is hardly cutters rather quickly. Gummy resin exudes when the wood distinguishable from the sapwood. The texture is medium to is heated by dull tools. A slow feed rate and specially hard- rather coarse, and the grain is generally interlocked. The ened cutters are suggested for optimal cutting. The wood wood dries at a slow rate; warping and checking may de- turns easily, is easy to glue, and takes finishes well. The velop, but only to a minor extent. Piquia is reported to be heartwood is rated as highly resistant to attack by decay easy to moderately difficult to saw; cutting edges dull rap- fungi and very resistant to dry-wood termites. It is extremely idly. The heartwood is very durable and resistant to decay resistant to treatment with preservatives. fungi and dry-wood termites but only moderately resistant to marine borers. The unusual and unique color of purpleheart makes this wood desirable for turnery, marquetry, cabinets, fine furni- Piquia is recommended for general and marine construction, ture, parquet flooring, and many specialty items, such as heavy flooring, railway crossties, boat parts, and furniture billiard cue butts and carvings. Other uses include heavy components. It is especially suitable where hardness and construction, shipbuilding, and chemical vats. high wear resistance are needed. Pycnanthus (see Ilomba) Primavera Ramin The natural distribution of primavera (Tabebuia donnell– Ramin (Gonystylus bancanus) is native to southeast Asia smithii [=Cybistax donnell-smithii]) is restricted to south- from the Malaysian Peninsula to Sumatra and Borneo. western Mexico, the Pacific coast of Guatemala and El Sal- vador, and north-central Honduras. Primavera is regarded as Both the heartwood and sapwood are the color of pale straw, one of the primary light-colored woods, but its use has been yellow, or whitish. The grain is straight or shallowly

1–29 interlocked. The texture is even, moderately fine, and similar For example, Brazilian rosewood is harder than any U.S. to that of American mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla). The native hardwood species used for furniture and veneer. The wood is without figure or luster. Ramin is moderately hard wood machines and veneers well. It can be glued satisfacto- and heavy, weighing about 672 kg/m3 (42 lb/ft3) in the air- rily, provided the necessary precautions are taken to ensure dried condition. The wood is easy to work, finishes well, good glue bonds, with respect to oily wood. Brazilian rose- and glues satisfactorily. Ramin is rated as not resistant to wood has an excellent reputation for durability with respect decay but permeable with respect to preservative treatment. to fungal and insect attack, including termites, although the wood is not used for purposes where durability is necessary. Ramin is used for plywood, interior woodwork, furniture, turnery, joinery, moulding, flooring, dowels, and handles of Brazilian rosewood is used primarily in the form of veneer for nonstriking tools (brooms), and as a general utility wood. decorative plywood. Limited quantities are used in the solid form for specialty items such as cutlery handles, brush backs, Roble billiard cue butts, and fancy turnery. Roble, a species in the roble group of Tabebuia (generally Rosewood, Indian T. rosea), ranges from southern Mexico through Central America to Venezuela and Ecuador. The name roble comes Indian rosewood (Dalbergia latifolia) is native to most from the Spanish word for oak (Quercus). In addition, T. provinces of India except in the northwest. rosea is called roble because the wood superficially resem- The heartwood varies in color from golden brown to dark bles U.S. oak. Other names for T. rosea are mayflower and purplish brown with denser blackish streaks at the end of apamate. growth zones, giving rise to an attractive figure on flat-sawn surfaces. The narrow sapwood is yellowish. The average The sapwood becomes a pale brown upon exposure to air. 3 3 weight is about 849 kg/m (53 lb/ft ) at 12% moisture con- The heartwood varies from golden brown to dark brown, and tent. The texture is uniform and moderately coarse. Indian it has no distinctive odor or taste. The texture is medium rosewood is quite similar in appearance to Brazilian and the grain narrowly interlocked. The wood weighs about 3 3 (Dalbergia nigra) and Honduran (Dalbergia stevensonii) 642 kg/m (40 lb/ft ) at 12% moisture content. Roble has excellent working properties in all machine operations. It rosewood. The wood is reported to kiln-dry well though finishes attractively in natural color and takes finishes with slowly, and the color improves during drying. Indian rose- good results. It weighs less than the average of U.S. white wood is a heavy wood with high strength properties; after oaks (Quercus) but is comparable with respect to bending drying, it is particularly hard for its weight. The wood is and compression parallel to grain. The heartwood of roble is moderately hard to work with hand tools and offers a fair generally rated as moderately to very durable with respect to resistance in machine operations. Lumber with calcareous decay; the darker and heavier wood is regarded as more deposits tends to dull tools rapidly. The wood turns well resistant than the lighter-colored woods. and has high screw-holding properties. If a very smooth surface is required for certain purposes, pores (vessels) may Roble is used extensively for furniture, interior woodwork, need to be filled. doors, flooring, boat building, ax handles, and general con- Indian rosewood is essentially a decorative wood for high- struction. The wood veneers well and produces attractive quality furniture and cabinetwork. In the United States, it is paneling. For some applications, roble is suggested as a used primarily in the form of veneer. substitute for American white ash (Fraxinus americana) and oak (Quercus). Sande Practically all commercially available sande (mostly Rosewood, Brazilian Brosimum utile) comes from Pacific Ecuador and Colombia. Brazilian rosewood (Dalbergia nigra), also referred to as However, the group of species ranges from the Atlantic Coast jacaranda, occurs in eastern Brazilian forests from the State of in Costa Rica southward to Colombia and Ecuador. Bahia to Rio de Janeiro. Since it was exploited for a long time, Brazilian rosewood is no longer abundant. The sapwood and heartwood show no distinction; the wood is uniformly yellowish white to yellowish or light brown. The heartwood varies with respect to color, through shades The texture is medium to moderately coarse and even, and of brown, red, and violet, and it is irregularly and conspicu- the grain can be widely and narrowly interlocked. The den- ously streaked with black. It is sharply demarcated from the sity of air-dried wood ranges from 384 to 608 kg/m3 (24 to white sapwood. Many kinds of rosewood are distinguished 38 lb/ft3), and the strength is comparable with that of U.S. locally on the basis of prevailing color. The texture is coarse, oak (Quercus). The lumber air dries rapidly with little or no and the grain is generally straight. The heartwood has an degrade. However, material containing tension wood is oily or waxy appearance and feel, and its odor is fragrant subject to warp, and the tension wood may cause fuzzy grain and distinctive. The wood is hard and heavy (weight of air- as well as overheating of saws as a result of pinching. The dried wood is 752 to 897 kg/m3 (47 to 56 lb/ft3)); thor- wood is not durable with respect to stain, decay, and insect oughly air-dried wood will barely float in water. Strength attack, and care must be exercised to prevent degrade from properties of Brazilian rosewood are high and are more than these agents. The wood stains and finishes easily and adequate for the purposes for which this wood is used. presents no gluing problems.

1–30 Sande is used for plywood, particleboard, fiberboard, carpen- The heartwood is brown with a pink or golden tinge that try, light construction, furniture components, and moulding. darkens on exposure to air. Dark brown or black streaks are sometimes present. The sapwood is light gray, brown, Santa Maria or straw-colored. The texture is moderately fine and even, Santa Maria (Calophyllum brasiliense) ranges from the West and the grain is narrowly interlocked. The strength of sepetir Indies to southern Mexico and southward through Central is similar to that of shellbark hickory (Carya laciniosa), America into northern South America. and the density of the air-dried wood is also similar (640 to 720 kg/m3 (40 to 45 lb/ft3)). The wood dries well but rather The heartwood is pinkish to brick red or rich reddish brown slowly, with a tendency to end-split. The wood is difficult to and marked by fine and slightly darker striping on flat-sawn work with hand tools and has a rather rapid dulling effect on surfaces. The sapwood is lighter in color and generally dis- cutters. Gums from the wood tend to accumulate on saw tinct from the heartwood. The texture is medium and fairly teeth, which causes additional problems. Sepetir is rated as uniform, and the grain is generally interlocked. The heart- nondurable in ground contact under Malaysian exposure. The wood is rather similar in appearance to dark red meranti heartwood is extremely resistant to preservative treatment; (Shorea). The wood is moderately easy to work and good however, the sapwood is only moderately resistant. surfaces can be obtained when attention is paid to machining operations. The wood averages about 608 kg/m3 (38 lb/ft3) at Sepetir is a general carpentry wood that is also used for 12% moisture content. Santa Maria is in the density class of furniture and cabinetwork, joinery, flooring (especially truck sugar maple (Acer saccharum), and its strength properties are flooring), plywood, and decorative veneers. generally similar; the hardness of sugar maple is superior to that of Santa Maria. The heartwood is generally rated as Seraya, Red and Dark Red (see Meranti Groups) moderately durable to durable in contact with the ground, Seraya, White but it apparently has no resistance against termites and marine borers. White seraya or bagtikan, as it is called in the Philippines, is a name applied to the 14 species of Parashorea, which The inherent natural durability, color, and figure on the grow in Sabah and the Philippines. quarter-sawn face suggest that Santa Maria could be used as veneer for plywood in boat construction. Other uses are The heartwood is light brown or straw-colored, sometimes flooring, furniture, cabinetwork, millwork, and decorative with a pinkish tint. The texture is moderately coarse and the plywood. grain interlocked. White seraya is very similar in appearance and strength properties to light red meranti, and sometimes Sapele the two are mixed in the market. White seraya dries easily with little degrade, and works fairly well with hand and Sapele (Entandrophragma cylindricum) is a large African tree machine tools. The heartwood is not durable to moderately that occurs from Sierra Leone to Angola and eastward durable in ground contact, and it is extremely resistant to through the Congo to Uganda. preservative treatments. The heartwood ranges in color from that of American mahog- White seraya is used for joinery, light construction, any (Swietenia macrophylla) to a dark reddish or purplish moulding and millwork, flooring, plywood, furniture, and brown. The lighter-colored and distinct sapwood may be up cabinet work. to 10 cm (4 in.) wide. The texture is rather fine. The grain is interlocked and produces narrow and uniform striping on 3 Seraya, Yellow (see Meranti Groups) quarter-sawn surfaces. The wood averages about 674 kg/m 3 (42 lb/ft ) at 12% moisture content, and its mechanical prop- Silverballi, Brown (see Kaneelhart) erties are in general higher than those of white oak (Quercus alba). The wood works fairly easily with machine tools, Spanish-Cedar although the interlocked grain makes it difficult to plane. Spanish-cedar or cedro consists of a group of about seven Sapele finishes and glues well. The heartwood is rated as species in the genus Cedrela that are widely distributed moderately durable and is resistant to preservative treatment. in tropical America from southern Mexico to northern Argentina. As lumber, sapele is used for furniture and cabinetwork, joinery, and flooring. As veneer, it is used for decorative Spanish-cedar is one of only a few tropical species that are plywood. ring-porous. The heartwood varies from light to dark reddish brown, and the sapwood is pinkish to white. The texture is Selangan Batu (see Balau) rather fine and uniform to coarse and uneven. The grain is not interlocked. The heartwood is characterized by a distinc- Sepetir tive odor. The wood dries easily. Although Spanish-cedar is The name sepetir applies to species in the genus Sindora and not high in strength, most other properties are similar to to Pseudosindora palustris. These species are distributed those of American mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla), throughout Malaysia, Indochina, and the Philippines. except for hardness and compression perpendicular to the

1–31 grain, where mahogany is definitely superior. Spanish-cedar of Latin America and Africa, and many of these are now is considered decay resistant; it works and glues well. producing teakwood. Spanish-cedar is used locally for all purposes that require an The heartwood varies from yellow–brown to dark golden– easily worked, light but straight grained, and durable wood. brown and eventually turns a rich brown upon exposure to In the United States, the wood is favored for millwork, air. Teakwood has a coarse uneven texture (ring porous), is cabinets, fine furniture, boat building, cigar wrappers and usually straight grained, and has a distinctly oily feel. The boxes, humidores, and decorative and utility plywood. heartwood has excellent dimensional stability and a very high degree of natural durability. Although teak is not gener- Sucupira (Angelin, Para-Angelim) ally used in the United States where strength is of prime Sucupira, angelin, and para-angelim apply to species in four importance, its properties are generally on par with those of genera of legumes from South America. Sucupira applies to U.S. oaks (Quercus). Teak is generally worked with moder- Bowdichia nitida from northern Brazil, B. virgilioides from ate ease with hand and machine tools. However, the presence Venezuela, the Guianas, and Brazil, and Diplotropis pur- of silica often dulls tools. Finishing and gluing are satisfac- purea from the Guianas and southern Brazil. Angelin tory, although pretreatment may be necessary to ensure good (Andira inermis) is a widespread species that occurs bonding of finishes and glues. throughout the West Indies and from southern Mexico Teak is one of the most valuable woods, but its use is lim- through Central America to northern South America and ited by scarcity and high cost. Because teak does not cause Brazil. Para-angelim (Hymenolobium excelsum) is generally rust or corrosion when in contact with metal, it is extremely restricted to Brazil. useful in the shipbuilding industry, for tanks and vats, and The heartwood of sucupira is chocolate-brown, red–brown, or for fixtures that require high acid resistance. Teak is currently light brown (especially in Diplotropis purpurea). Angelin used in the construction of boats, furniture, flooring, decora- heartwood is yellowish brown to dark reddish brown; para- tive objects, and decorative veneer. angelim heartwood turns pale brown upon exposure to air. The sapwood is generally yellowish to whitish and is Tornillo sharply demarcated from the heartwood. The texture of all Tornillo (Cedrelinga cateniformis), also referred to as cedro- three woods is coarse and uneven, and the grain can be inter- rana, grows in the Loreton Huanuco provinces of Peru and in locked. The density of air-dried wood of these species ranges the humid terra firma of the Brazilian Amazon region. from 720 to 960 kg/m3 (45 to 60 lb/ft3), which makes them Tornillo can grow up to 52.5 m (160 ft) tall, with trunk generally heavier than true hickory (Carya). Their strength diameters of 1.5 to 3 m (5 to 9 ft). Trees in Peru are often properties are also higher than those of true hickory. The smaller in diameter, with merchantable heights of 15 m heartwood is rated very durable to durable in resistance to (45 ft) or more. decay fungi but only moderately resistant to attack by dry- wood termites. Angelin is reported to be difficult to treat The heartwood is pale brown with a golden luster and with preservatives, but para-angelim and sucupira treat ade- prominently marked with red vessel lines; the heartwood quately. Angelin can be sawn and worked fairly well, except gradually merges into the lighter-colored sapwood. The texture is coarse. The density of air-dried material that it is difficult to plane to a smooth surface because of 3 3 alternating hard (fibers) and soft (parenchyma) tissue. Para- collected in Brazil averages 640 kg/m (40 lb/ft ); for Peruvian stock, average density is about 480 kg/m3 angelim works well in all operations. Sucupira is difficult to 3 moderately difficult to work because of its high density, (30 lb/ft ). The wood is comparable in strength with Ameri- irregular grain, and coarse texture. can elm (Ulmus americana). Tornillo cuts easily and can be finished smoothly, but areas of tension wood may result in Sucupira, angelin, and para-angelim are ideal for heavy woolly surfaces. The heartwood is fairly durable and reported construction, railroad crossties, and other uses that do not to have good resistance to weathering. require much fabrication. Other suggested uses include flooring, boat building, furniture, turnery, tool handles, Tornillo is a general construction wood that can be used for and decorative veneer. furniture components in lower-grade furniture.

Suradan (see Pilon) Trebol (see Macawood) Tangare (see Andiroba) Virola (see Banak) Tanguile (see Lauan–Meranti Groups) Waika (see Manni) Teak Walele (see Ilomba) Teak (Tectona grandis) occurs in commercial quantities in Wallaba India, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, North and South Wallaba is a common name applied to the species in the Vietnam, and the East Indies. Numerous plantations have genus Eperua. Other names include wapa and apa. The been developed within its natural range and in tropical areas center of distribution is in the Guianas, but the species

1–32 extends into Venezuela and the Amazon region of northern Growth rings are fairly distinct and similar to those of eastern Brazil. Wallaba generally occurs in pure stands or as the white pine (Pinus strobus). The grain is not interlocked, and dominant tree in the forest. the wood takes paint well, glues easily, and is free from resin ducts, pitch pockets, and pitch streaks. Density of air-dried The heartwood ranges from light to dark red to reddish or wood averages 545 kg/m3 (34 lb/ft3). The strength of parana purplish brown with characteristically dark, gummy streaks. pine compares favorably with that of U.S. softwood species The texture is rather coarse and the grain typically straight. of similar density and, in some cases, approaches that of Wallaba is a hard, heavy wood; density of air-dried wood is 3 3 species with higher density. Parana pine is especially strong 928 kg/m (58 lb/ft ). Its strength is higher than that of in shear strength, hardness, and nail-holding ability, but it is shagbark hickory (Carya ovata). The wood dries very slowly notably deficient in strength in compression across the grain. with a marked tendency to check, split, and warp. Although The tendency of the kiln-dried wood to split and warp is the wood has high density, it is easy to work with hand and caused by the presence of compression wood, an abnormal machine tools. However, the high gum content clogs saw- type of wood with intrinsically large shrinkage along the teeth and cutters. Once the wood has been kiln dried, gum grain. Boards containing compression wood should be exudates are not a serious problem in machining. The heart- excluded from exacting uses. wood is reported to be very durable and resistant to subterra- nean termites and fairly resistant to dry-wood termites. The principal uses of parana pine include framing lumber, interior woodwork, sashes and door stock, furniture case Wallaba is well suited for heavy construction, railroad goods, and veneer. crossties, poles, industrial flooring, and tank staves. It is also highly favored for charcoal. Pine, Caribbean Caribbean pine (Pinus caribaea) occurs along the Caribbean Wapa (see Wallaba) side of Central America from Belize to northeastern Yang (see Keruing) Nicaragua. It is also native to the Bahamas and Cuba. This low-elevation tree is widely introduced as a plantation Softwoods species throughout the world tropics. Cypress, Mexican The heartwood is golden- to red-brown and distinct from the Native to Mexico and Guatemala, Mexican cypress sapwood, which is light yellow and roughly 2 to 5 cm (1 to (Cupressus lusitanica) is now widely planted at high eleva- 2 in.) wide. This softwood species has a strong resinous tions throughout the tropical world. odor and a greasy feel. The weight varies considerably and may range from 416 to 817 kg/m3 (26 to 51 lb/ft3) at 12% The heartwood is yellowish, pale brown, or pinkish, with moisture content. Caribbean pine may be appreciably heavier occasional streaking or variegation. The texture is fine and than slash pine (P. elliottii), but the mechanical properties of uniform, and the grain is usually straight. The wood is these two species are rather similar. The lumber can be kiln fragrantly scented. The density of air-dried wood is dried satisfactorily. Caribbean pine is easy to work in all 512 kg/m3 (32 lb/ft3), and the strength is comparable with machining operations, but its high resin content may cause that of yellow-cedar (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis) or western resin to accumulate on the equipment. Durability and resis- hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla). The wood is easy to work tance to insect attack vary with resin content; in general, the with hand and machine tools, and it nails, stains, and pol- heartwood is rated as moderately durable. The sapwood is ishes well. Mexican cypress air dries very rapidly with little highly permeable and is easily treated by open tank or pres- or no end- or surface-checking. Reports on durability are sure–vacuum systems. The heartwood is rated as moderately conflicting. The heartwood is not treatable by the open tank resistant to preservative treatment, depending on resin process and seems to have an irregular response to pressure– content. vacuum systems. Caribbean pine is used for the same purposes as are the Mexican cypress is used mainly for posts and poles, furniture southern pines (Pinus spp.). components, and general construction. Pine, Ocote Parana Pine Ocote pine (Pinus oocarpa) is a high-elevation species that The wood commonly called parana pine (Araucaria angusti- occurs from northwestern Mexico southward through folia) is a softwood but not a true pine. It grows in south- Guatemala into Nicaragua. The largest and most extensive eastern Brazil and adjacent areas of Paraguay and Argentina. stands occur in Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Honduras. Parana pine has many desirable characteristics. It is available The sapwood is a pale yellowish brown and generally up to in large-size clear boards with uniform texture. The small 7 cm (3 in.) wide. The heartwood is a light reddish brown. pinhead knots (leaf traces) that appear on flat-sawn surfaces The grain is not interlocked. The wood has a resinous odor, 3 3 and the light or reddish-brown heartwood provide a desirable and it weighs about 656 kg/m (41 lb/ft ) at 12% moisture figure for matching in paneling and interior woodwork. content. The strength properties of ocote pine are comparable in most respects with those of longleaf pine (P. palustris).

1–33 Decay resistance studies have shown ocote pine heartwood to Building Research Establishment, Department of be very durable with respect to white-rot fungal attack and Environment. 1977. A handbook of softwoods. London: moderately durable with respect to brown rot. H. M. Stationery Office. Ocote pine is comparable with the southern pines (Pinus) in Building Research Establishment, Princes Risborough workability and machining characteristics. It is a general Laboratory; Farmer, R.H. 1972. Handbook of hardwoods. construction wood suited for the same uses as are the Rev., 2d ed. London: H. M. Stationery Office. southern pines. Chudnoff, Martin. 1984. Tropical timbers of the world. Agric. Handb. 607. Washington DC: U.S. Department of Pine, Radiata Agriculture. Radiata pine (Pinus radiata), also known as Monterey pine, Hardwood Market Report: Lumber News Letter. [Current is planted extensively in the southern hemisphere, mainly in edition]. Memphis, TN. Chile, New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa. Plantation- grown trees may reach a height of 26 to 30 m (80 to 90 ft) in Haynes, Richard W.; Adams, Darius M.; Mills, John R. 20 years. 1993. The 1993 RPA timber assessment update. Gen. Tech. Rep. RM–GTR–259. Fort Collins, Colorado: U.S. Depart- The heartwood from plantation-grown trees is light brown to ment of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest pinkish brown and is distinct from the paler cream-colored and Range Experiment Station. sapwood. Growth rings are primarily wide and distinct. False rings may be common. The texture is moderately even Howard, James L. 1997. U.S. timber production, trade, and fine, and the grain is not interlocked. Plantation-grown consumption, and price statistics, 1965–1994. Gen. Tech. radiata pine averages about 480 kg/m3 (30 lb/ft3) at 12% Rep. FPL–GTR–98. Madison, Wisconsin: U.S. Department moisture content. Its strength is comparable with that of red of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory. pine (P. resinosa), although location and growth rate may Keating, W.G.; Bolza, E. 1982. Characteristics, properties, cause considerable variation in strength properties. The wood and uses of timbers: Vol. 1. Southeast Asia, Northern Aus- air or kiln dries rapidly with little degrade. The wood ma- tralia, and the Pacific. Melbourne, Australia: Inkata Press. chines easily although the grain tends to tear around large knots. Radiata pine nails and glues easily, and it takes paint Kukachka, B.F. 1970. Properties of imported tropical and finishes well. The sapwood is prone to attack by stain woods. Res. Pap. FPL 125. Madison, WI: U.S. Department fungi and vulnerable to boring insects. However, plantation- of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory. grown stock is mostly sapwood, which treats readily with Little E.L. 1979. Checklist of United States trees (native preservatives. The heartwood is rated as durable above and naturalized). Agric. Handb. 541. Washington, DC: ground and is moderately resistant to preservative treatment. U.S. Department of Agriculture. Radiata pine can be used for the same purposes as are the Markwardt, L.J. 1930. Comparative strength properties of other pines grown in the United States. These uses include woods grown in the United States. Tech. Bull. 158. Wash- veneer, plywood, pulp, fiberboard, construction, boxes, and ington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture. millwork. Panshin, A.J.; deZeeuw, C. 1980. Textbook of wood technology. 4th ed. New York: McGraw–Hill. References Record, S.J.; Hess, R.W. 1949. Timbers of the new world. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Alden, H.A. 1995. Hardwoods of North America. Gen. Tech. Rep. FPL–GTR–83. Madison, WI: U.S. Department Ulrich, Alice H. 1981. U.S. timber production, trade, con- of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory. sumption, and price statistics, 1950–1980. Misc. Pub. 1408. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture. Alden, H.A. 1997. Softwoods of North America. Gen. Tech. Rep. FPL–GTR–102. Madison, WI: U.S. Department USDA. 1990. An analysis of the timber situation in the of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory. United States: 1989–2040. Gen. Tech. Rep. RM–199. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Serv- Berni, C.A.; Bolza, E.; Christensen, F.J. 1979. South ice, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station. American timbers—characteristics, properties, and uses of 190 species. Melbourne, Australia: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Division of Building Research. Bolza, E.; Keating, W.G. 1972. African timbers—the properties, uses, and characteristics of 700 species. Mel- bourne, Australia: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Division of Building Research.

1–34 From Forest Products Laboratory. 1999. Wood handbook—Wood as an engineering material. Gen. Tech. Rep. FPL–GTR–113. Madison, WI: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory. 463 p.